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Owner 'very sad' as trinket trade box taken

Ben Carr,East Midlandsand
Summaya Mughal,BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC The box is pink and says 'trinket trade' on it. Ashleigh is pictured next to it and has blue hair and is wearing a black jumper. She has pink eye makeup on and has tattoos on her neck. BBC
Ashleigh Pithers, set up the box, pictured here before it was taken, so people could trade "cute things" that made them happy

A woman who set up a trinket trade box next to a park in Nottinghamshire said she felt "very sad" after the box disappeared after just two weeks.

Ashleigh Pithers, 30, said she hand-painted and installed the box at Bridgford Park in West Bridgford to bring something uplifting to the area.

People were encouraged to leave "bits and bobs" in the box and "trade cute things".

The coffee shop manager said: "I was very sad because I thought I have tried to do something really nice and then it has kind of - not failed - but it has put a dampener on the whole thing."

It is believed the box, which had been attached to railings, was taken on 28 March.

Pithers said she had not reported it to police and Rushcliffe Borough Council, which maintains the railings, confirmed it had not removed the box.

"When you are doing something like that, it was a possibility," Pithers added.

"But I didn't expect it to be taken so fast. I think that was the shock to me.

"It was only out for about two weeks, so it wasn't long."

The box is attached to a fence at Bridgford park. There is a pink fluffy animal inside and some stickers.
Pithers said she spent time painting the box and that it had a huge response on social media

She got the idea for the box, which was put up on 17 March, after seeing a similar initiative in London, and said the idea behind it was "kind of a bit" like thrifting.

Pithers said she bought a box, painted it, and set up the social media pages for it.

She added: "I think that [is] the thing that upset me more - the time I spent hand-painting it and preparing it."

Pithers said she is planning to make another box and has been in touch with independent businesses in West Bridgford about the possibility of getting it installed outside a shop.

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