LIFE can be tough for young couples today, facing huge mortgages as they set up home for the first time.

Many manage to scrape enough money together for the deposit on their dream home but then struggle to furnish it - without going into debt.

But help is at hand thanks to the local charity, Bolton Community Transport.

This innovative group - it has been running for 20 years - collects unwanted furniture, donated by members of the public, and sells them on at reasonable prices.

All money raised helps old folk and the disabled enjoy trips out in the Bolton Community Transport mini-buses.

It seems a very fair swap - you pay a nominal amount for a table and a needy person gets the opportunity to enjoy a day out in Blackpool.

And it seems to work well if the group's headquarters in Lecturers Close, close to Bolton Town Centre, is anything to go by. The warehouse is jam-packed with donated goods, from fridges and washers to three-piece suites and beds.

In fact, there is just about everything a young couple would need when setting up home for the first time.

Around £300 could get you a dining room table and chairs, fridge, washing machine, television cabinet, sofa and chairs, bed, wardrobe and coffee table.

A great deal depends on what is on offer on the day you pop along to have a look. Bargains fly out as quickly as they arrive on the premises.

The charity has become a god-send for families struggling to afford the prices charged in High Street stores.

But it is the sale offers at those very High Street stores that can prove beneficial for Bolton Community Transport.

"We find people tend to take advantage of the sales at Christmas and Easter and then donate their used furniture to us," said general manager Diane Sandiford.

At Christmas BCT generally benefits from an influx of dining room tables and chairs. "People tend to realise their old dining room table isn't big enough for Christmas dinner so they buy a new one in the sales and then pass their old one on to us. Some people feel they want new furniture for the family to sit on at Christmas, so they buy a new sofa and donate their used one.

"At Easter we tend to get lots of beds when the stores are offering sales once again. Our season tends to work the same as the High Street stores," she added.

Electrical goods - washing machines, fridges, freezers and cookers - are all tested and then sold with a three-month guarantee. You can pick up a fridge for as little as £30 and a washing machine from £60.

Suites range in price from around £25 to around £90 and all will carry the fire retardant tag. "When people are donating to us we have to check the suite is fire-retardant," said Diane.

Computer desks are around the £15 mark and a wardrobe will set you back around £40. With dining room tables and chairs starting at just £25, there really is no excuse for not throwing a dinner party in your new home.

The charity also has shop premises in Market Street, opened in November last year, and proving hugely popular with local residents who regularly pop in to pick up bargains.

The idea of the charity is to help disadvantaged people who would, otherwise, struggle to furnish their homes, but it also proves an Aladdin's Cave of items for discerning shoppers who like to make their purses stretch as far as possible.

"We do get young couples coming in to buy things for their first home. We get a very wide range of people and are always pleased to see anyone interested in buying from us," said Diane.

l Anyone interested in finding out more about the furniture can ring Bolton Community Transport on Bolton 364777.