REDEMPTION Bridge has finally got to work on its homeless support bus after facing a bout of vandalism.

The new 'hygiene bus' was smashed to pieces in two separate attacks, leaving all 15 windows shattered and the windscreen wipers and indicators broken.

But now the trio - made up of Stephen Morton, Louise Savage and Rob Lindon - have started to clear off the flooring and arrange for the windows to be replaced at a cost of £700.

The bus will have two or three showers, a toilet, clothes washing and drying facilities, a food prep area/kitchenette, a seating area, a counselling room and sleeping bunks for volunteers working on the bus when it is away from home for the night.

The trio hope it will open a "gateway" to Wi-Fi connection for benefits and housing sites, sessions with GPs and even vet care for individuals with dogs.

Rob Lindon said: "We want to convert what we see now as a wreck of a bus into something very very usable. We were aiming to get clean clothes to people and that's the immediate impact but then going forward we want to use the bus as a gateway to different services to help homeless individuals. The project is much grander than what you see with the bus.

"One of the things we need is help from people like electrical experts, plumbing experts, to put the showers into the bus. Then we need to be able to understand how we're going to feed the electricity that's needed, how we're going to deal with the water demand for showers and washing machines. We need that kind of expertise."

A new set of windows is the first job on the list as well as getting new flooring.

Stephen, the head of the project, has been staying late after work to strip down the old wooden side panels and gut the bus before transformation.

Louise said: "We are exposed to the elements here so if anyone has any storage please do get in touch with us. Whilst we don't have windows she's getting very wet, just a temporary place so we can put the windows in.

"If anyone wants to help strip her out, if they know about building, it's all hands on deck really. If you've got an hour to spare that would be amazing."

People can donate to Redemption Bridge by visiting its Just Giving or GoFundMe pages.

Anyone who can offer work experience or mentoring can contact the team on the Redemption Bridge Facebook page.