HASLINGDEN ex-services charity Veterans in Communities has opened a new arts and crafts shop.

Co-ordinator Darren Horsnell, from Haslingden, has been running classes at the group's Bury Road headquarters, and will now take charge of the new venue.

Mr Horsnell, who also hosted sessions at the Creative Community Hub at Jubilee Court, Haslingden, discovered the therapeutic properties of art while he was recuperating after serving in the Falkland Islands.

VIC's Positive Art Shop opened in Bury Road, Rawtenstall, on Saturday and will stock a wide range of arts and crafts materials and hand-made items.

Mr Hornsell said: "This all stems from when I first started art therapy and I realised what art can do for you and how much therapy you can get out of it.

"It took me two years before I went along to art therapy and then when I did I couldn’t believe how it affected me."

The shop was officially opened by the Mayor of Rossendale, Cllr Marilyn Procter, who said: "I think it is splendid. The art work for sale is of a really, really high quality. The time and effort people have put in here is fantastic."

The shop will be open on Thursdays to Saturdays from 9am to 5pm and on Sundays from 10am to 2pm.