Members of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton took to heart a letter by Pope Francis.

In his letter to all Catholics, called Laudato Si, Pope Francis asked them to respond to the call of the poor and the call of planet Earth.

At St Mary’s in Normandy Street they formed a Laudato Si group supported by parish priest Father James Carling.

This set up an Alton Clothes Bank led by Cathie Joseph and volunteers which is run in the church hall from 9am to midday every Tuesday and the first Saturday of the month.

Laudato Si held its first monthly collection of items for Alton Foodbank on October 2. Laudato Si leader Tim Cain said: “We were stunned by the generosity of our people. To receive four car boot loads of food was more than we ever hoped for.”

The group’s next project is recycling hand tools for use in the developing world.