Pinner OAPs create logging business

Five friends in their sixties from Pinner facing ageism on top of the current recession, turned the situation to their advantage by starting their own business.

Garry Scanlan, a former IT salesman from Barrowpoint Avenue, Pinner, said of their new logging venture: "The idea came about from our weekly socials really."

Brainstorming how to use the one resource they did have - a lot of time - they got wind of a local tree-pruning business which had to pay to have its wood taken to landfill.

The friends saw an opportunity and started taking the wood away without charge, to collect, split, dry, store, sell and then deliver as logs to people for home burning.

Starting with what Mr Scanlan described as a "30-year-old chain saw and an ancient axe from the back of the garden shed" they were soon able to buy up-to-date equipment.

"Not only is our product carbon neutral, but it can be a much cheaper way for people to heat their homes" said John Hammond of South Drive, North Harrow, who has turned from the world of international exhibition stands to the outdoors.

He added: "The beauty of it is, that just as the demand for logs dies down, the gardening season picks up."

The business's success allowed them to take on a gardening franchise from Haste Hill Nursery in Fore Street, Pinner.

The men usually work in pairs, sharing the work, van, equipment and insurance.

Former management consultant Bernard Morgan of Evelyn Drive, Pinner said: "We endeavour to care as much about people's gardens as they do."