Pre-loved bargains for booters

ON CALL: Reporter Faye Preston with her quirky item of the day - a pink lips telephone for Pounds 2.

EVERY summer, thousands of people descend on the region's car boot sales and markets. Over the coming weeks, the Grimsby Telegraph will be out and about speaking to traders and bargain hunters.

Here, we attend the Grimoldby Cricket Club car boot sale on Manby Airfield ...

SUNDAY morning. A time for most people to lie in and lounge about ... most people, that is, except car booters.

Grimoldby Cricket Club Car Boot Sale on Manby Airfield is not only popular among locals, it also attracts visitors from up and down the country. Whether buying or selling, hoards of people arrive at the airfield for 7am in the hope they will bag a bargain or steal a deal from the pre-loved items on offer.

Karen Spooner, secretary of Grimoldby Cricket Club, dedicates her Sunday mornings to the club by organising the car boot sale. The money raised also goes to local LIVES group and, occasionally, to Saltfleetby Primary School. Karen said: "We charge the booters and there are also donation buckets with the volunteers. Then we divide the money between charities. "Some people have a clear-out and try to make money from Sexy Costumes their old stuff, some people make a living out of it and some people absolutely hate it, but it does seem to be getting more popular nowadays." Karen has organised the car boots for five years and has seen the trend grow. She says car booting is often unpredictable - because of the weather and the items for sale. She said: "A lot of sellers bring stuff they think will definitely sell and end up selling something totally out there.

"People come from all over - some from quite a distance. We had a couple that came from the Midlands quite regularly. They liked the booters and they would make a day of it.

"We have had really busy car boots in the past with no buyers and then about 50 cars with loads of buyers. It varies but it is always very good here."

Karen said that often the winning ingredients for throwing a booming car boot sale are the weather and having a bit of variety on show.

She said: "There is certainly all sorts to choose from here. If you can think of something you want, you will more than likely find it here." The next Grimoldby Cricket Club Car Boot is on Sunday, June 27. Sellers should arrive for 7am, buyers for 8am. Stalls cost Pounds 5-Pounds 8.

TOP TEN QUIRKY BUYS Polly the robotic parrot.

Blonde wig.

Replica Audemars Piguet Watches

African dress. Pink lips telephone. Antique brass bed pan. Authentic Chinese clothing.

Injured dog collar. Box of 1958 football memorabilia.

bedat & co

Watney's Mixer Game.

Vintage shaving kit.

BABIES grow so quickly don't they? Louth mums Karley Bieronski and Hayley Finnemore, both 25, opened their car boot to cash in their babies' outgrown clothes and toys.

Hayley said: "I bought lots of stuff from car boots when I was pregnant with Jessica, because they only wear their clothes a few times before they don't fit.

"There is no point paying shop prices for them when you can get them cheaper here."

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