THE owner of a newly opened second-hand furniture store has vowed to fight against the ‘throw away society’ by stocking a range of restored items, some more than 100 years old.

Mike Lock, aged 44, of West Street, Banwell, named the store Lock, Stock and Sparrow, a play on his surname and his partner’s, Kate Sparrow, and is drawing on his 10 years’ experience in furniture restoration to find and stock top pieces and creatively restore old furniture.

Mike opened the store after being made redundant from a similar shop in Bristol and searching without success for a new employer.

The business, based in Locking Moor Road, concentrates on ‘upcycling’ old furniture to give them a new lease of life and was opened by Weston mayor David Hitchins.

Mike said: “We live in a throw away society but many old things are far superior than the new equivalent.

“A testament to this is that much of the stock is over a hundred years old including pine boxes, wardrobes and chest of drawers.

“I am very passionate about recycling and upcycling. It is just a shame that people are so easily led to get rid of nice old things to make way for inferior new things.

“The feedback I am getting from customers is that there is nothing like this store in Weston, people have to go as far as Glastonbury or Wells. It is a well-received venture.”