An internet service which helps people to find new homes for belongings that would otherwise be thrown away is expanding.

The Freeuse site, set up by North West Leicestershire District Council, has been running for just over a year and has helped people in the area give away about 225 items.

Melton Borough Council is now joining the scheme.

Items on the site range from furniture to baby clothes.

Popular items include televisions, sofas and beds.

More unusual things being offered include a Brownie uniform, a piano, roof tiles and old arcade machines.

The only requirement is that the items are given away for nothing.

Paul Coates, waste strategy manager at North West Leicestershire District Council, was among the founders of the site, based on the international Freecycle network, which offers a similar service.

He said: "We set up Freeuse in April last year.

"A member of the public had phoned in wanting to use the Freecycle website and asking how to log on, but we found it quite hard to work out ourselves.

"So we decided to set up a similar site of our own with no log-in or passwords to remember.

"It's a very simple thing to run and has cost us no money and very little time – and it helps us meet our policies of reducing the amount of rubbish thrown away in the district.

"We're proud of its success – and we got a fridge to use in the office through the site."

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council is also planning to join the site, while everyone in Leicestershire and beyond is able to use it.

To find out more, or access the Freeuse site, visit:

www.nwleics.gov.uk/freeuse_ads