Burntisland's Big Green Market returns during this month's Volunteers' Week

The monthly event, organised by a team of volunteers, aims to give a second chance to pre-loved items including household goods, soft furnishings, books, toys and clothes at very affordable prices.

The market takes place in the Burntisland Parish Church Hall in the town’s West Leven Street on the first Friday and Saturday of the month – running from noon until 4pm on a Friday and from 10am until 1pm on a Saturday.

As well as offering the pre-loved items, on a Saturday morning the market invites local sustainable businesses and craftspeople along to host a pop-up shop.

The Big Green Market distributes proceeds from the event to local community groups.

Already this year the markets have raised a total of £5000 for the Burntisland Harbour Access Fund, Burntisland Playgroup, the RNLI, the Community Cafe and Burntisland Out of School Service (BOSS).

The June event will raise money for Burntisland Pipe Band.

The hard work and dedication of the group of volunteers involved in running the monthly event has been praised during Volunteers’ Week, which runs from June 1 to 7 this year.

Abi Cornwall, steering group member, said that without the group of volunteers – there's currently between 30 and 40 of them – it would be impossible to host the event each month.

She said: “We have got an amazing bunch of volunteers who are really upbeat and positive.

"People help out when they can and they help with everything from setting up on a Friday morning, taking down on a Saturday afternoon and we have a whole bunch who help with the retail part of it during the markets.

"I know from speaking to the volunteers they have such a laugh at the market. Everyone is so happy and busy and there’s a vibrant atmosphere.

“It’s a massive group effort and it’s not something we’d be able to do without them. We wouldn’t want to do it without them. It’s about the community.”

The first Big Green Market took place in the town last July and the initiative has been going from strength to strength since then.

Abi continued: “It’s been going so much better than we could ever have hoped or dreamed.

“It's run completely by volunteers and every penny beyond our running costs goes straight to local community groups.

“This weekend we’re raising money for our 11th group which is Burntisland Pipe Band.

“We have been raising between £700 and £1000 each month.

“It’s really amazing, it’s grown and grown and grown.

“We started at the end of lockdown and people had lots of stuff they had been clearing out and no where to put it so we lucked out with that.

“We have an amazing rotation of stock.

“We’ll usually have between 200 and 300 people coming along over the course of the weekend.“People from different walks of life, with different interests come along and often find some real treasure in among what’s on offer.”

The local businesses that are holding a stall at Saturday’s event are JoJo Co., Miss Attie’s Cakes and Cat C Photography.