THE mayor of Shanklin was on hand to officially open the town's Men in Sheds Community Hub ­on Bank Holiday Monday.

Mayor Chris Quirk joined Shanklin Rotary president Rob Adams, and Shanklin Men in Sheds chair Raymond Healey, who founded the service in 2016.

The trio celebrated the opening of the new centre at the YMCA gardens, funded by way of a National Lottery community grant and a separate grant from Shanklin Rotary.

The hub is currently open every morning from 9.30am to 12pm, Monday to Friday, for men to gather to help combat isolation, loneliness, and to promote health and wellbeing.

Back in May of this year, the Shanklin service's open day saw Cllr Jenny Hicks present a National Lottery cheque for £10,000.

Secretary Steve Print said the Lottery grant, together with a Rotary grant, had completed the funding for the community hub.

The Men in Sheds initiative is backed by AGE (UK), who support older people in later life, effectively reducing social isolation.