By Mal Butler

THE IW Bus Shelter is to open its doors once more after being given a temporary home in Sandown.

The charity opened in November 2016, to tackle homelessness and has successfully helped to rehouse 22 of its guests full-time and provides support once they move into accommodation.

But the service has been out of operation since the end of last May when it moved off its previous site at Seaclose, Newport.

However, Paddy Lightfoot, owner of Hydromar Ltd, Sandown, has come forward to offer the bus temporary accommodation at the back of his premises.

Paddy is backed by his two sons, the company's general manager Alex, and Sam, who also works for the business and came up with the idea.

Paddy said: "Sam has recently come back from spending time volunteering in Uganda and also does voluntary work with Aspire, Ryde.

"He heard about the charity there and asked me if we could do something. We knew there was cold weather on the way, so we contacted Bus Shelter manager Karl Print and made him a temporary offer which he accepted.

"Everything is ready for them to move on site."

Karl said: "This is a huge relief and it gives us the chance to move forward. We hope to get the bus out of storage this week and on site so we can do maintenance work on it and get it up and running in the next few weeks.

"The site will be locked at night, but our clients, who are all referred by the council, will be able to come through an entrance to use our facilities. Anyone who is desperate for accommodation on the night will still be able to contact us.

"We know this is only a temporary solution, and we are still in talks with the council in the hope we can find a permanent home."