Women who are homeless or on low-incomes will benefit from a new service set up to provide free sanitary products.

The Tricky Period project involves Thetford Library taking donations of products and handing them out to those who cannot afford them.

Staff have been taking in donations of tampons, sanitary towels and carrier bags over the last few weeks and ready to start the scheme on Saturday, January 6.

Community librarian Caroline Varney-Bowers, from the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, is behind the project which is already running in the Norwich area.

She said: “I became aware of a project called The Homeless Period where homeless women struggle to afford these items and did some further research about period poverty.

“I found this is also an issue for young women from low-income families and sometimes leads to girls missing school during their period.

“We’ve given around 150 packs of pads and tampons to local organisations, refuges and individuals in just two months and taken in donations of around 500 packs.”

Order forms will be available at the staff desk at Thetford Library and customers can tick the products they require and hand in their form at the desk and receive the items they need.

Thetford Foodbank is supporting the project in addition to the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre and Thetford Citizens Advice. Items can be dropped at the Abbey Neighbourhood Centre in Exeter Way.

The library is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8.30am until 5.30pm; Wednesday 8.30am until 1pm; Friday 8.30am until 7pm and Saturday 9am until 1pm.