A HOMELESS breakfast club run by an army veteran who lived on the streets has been given a new lease of life after it was forced to close.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday between 10am and 12pm, volunteers at It’s time4change dish out beans on toast and cups of tea to the borough’s street homeless and sofa surfers.

The club ran at Blackburn Hall in Bury Parish Church for two years but shut earlier this year after Bury Council’s drugs and alcohol action team made funding cuts.

Now, after securing £5,000 of community grant funding with help from councillor James Frith, It’s time4change is back up and running at Manna House in Irwell Street.

Project manager Mick Priestly, who has battled drug and alcohol addictions and been homeless himself, said watching people’s lives improve for the better is “so rewarding”.

He said: “I know what people have gone through myself, so when It’s time4change had to shut ,it was so important to get it back up and running.

“I have come through the other side of homelessness and addiction and I want to help in any way I can.

“It is only beans on toast and a brew, but for some people that is their first meal in days and it is a warm safe place.

“The club is also about signposting people to health information and other services, letting them know the help they need is out there so they can break the cycle of addiction.”

Ramsbottom-born Mr Priestly, aged 50, was a member of the first battalion of Royal Green Jackets for seven years.

On his return he was forced to live on the streets for six months and "sofa surfed" for four years but he now lives in Radcliffe and spends his time volunteering.

Between 10 and 17 of Bury’s most vulnerable people regularly attend It’s time4change – the youngest a teenager and the oldest in his fifties – as well as some elderly residents.

Mr Priestly added: “You could not pay me for how I feel when I see how people’s lives are changing – it is the best feeling. They are the ones doing all the work. I just point them in the right direction.”

Mr Priestly said he was “hugely grateful” to Cllr Frith and to Manna House for letting It’s time4change use the building.

He added: “James fought our corner when we needed him. Without him, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

Cllr Frith, who is prospective parliamentary candidate for Bury North, said: “At a time of huge government funding cuts, how we treat Bury’s most vulnerable people matters most.

“When I heard of the problems facing Mick and the breakfast club closure, I was determined to do something about it and stand up for this brilliant community effort.

“I am delighted our application to secure £5,000 from the council’s community grant panel was successful so this important community work can continue.

“Having got to know many of the people coming to the breakfast club, it is clear how great a job Mick and his team are doing for them.”

For more information: search ‘It’s time4change’ on Facebook.

Anyone interested in volunteering should email Mick on mpriestley64@hotmail.co.uk