VINTAGE items are needed by staff from Lancashire County Council’s libraries, museums and community heritage services to create ‘memory boxes’.

The boxes are used for collecting objects that bring to mind particular times, events or people to help people with dementia.

They often respond more strongly and with greater enjoyment to memories from decades ago, which they often recall with greater clarity than more recent events.

Gill Irvine, health and wellbeing development manager, said: “Memory boxes have proved to be a great way to help people with dementia, together with their families or carers, to recall and talk about their past.

“We are looking for small items from the 1950s to the 1990s that we can put in the boxes, such as books, toys, games, postcards, fashion items, tickets or programmes.

“The objects must be easy to handle, so we need to avoid anything sharp or heavy.

“Apart from that, anything that can help to bring back memories of people's previous working, social and school lives would be really helpful.”

Objects can be donated from 10am to 3pm at Accrington Library on Saturday, March 15, and Rawtenstall Library on Saturday, March 29.