Commuters waiting at Hove railway station are now able to help the local community by buying bargain books.

A new bookstall was opened in the station’s waiting room last week, offering second hand books in return for a donation to Hove Lions Club.

Dee Inwards, Customer Experience Manager at Hove station said: “It seemed like a very good idea to provide our customers with the opportunity to get a book to read for their journey at a very good price, whilst also contributing to the Lions.”

Fiction and non-fiction books are available and can be paid for via an honesty box in the waiting room. Suggested donations are 50p for paperbacks and £1 for hardbacks.

Hove Lions Club Secretary Ros Belfitt said: “All the money collected will go back into the local community. We recently helped an old lady who contacted us after her gas boiler blew up. We paid for an engineer to go out to her and get it fixed.”

Hove Lions Club is a member of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service organisation. It remains independent, and can directly distribute any funds raised to worthy causes in the local community.

Similar bookstalls at Shoreham, Lewes, Horsham and Crawley railway stations have also raised money for local charities.

Anyone who has unwanted books to donate to Hove Lions Club can call 0845 8337851 and arrange for them to be collected.