The new service aims to promote sustainability by encouraging customers to recycle toys. 

Hippychick is to launch the first ever Wheelybug Clinic, a facility that will encourage customers to recycle a toy, instead of assigning it to the rubbish heap. The service will be provided by Scott Bateman, an employee of Hippychick, a company that is committed to traditional toys that encourage imaginative play for children under five.

One of its best-sellers is the ride-on Wheelybug that comes in a variety of animal designs. Scott, or Dr Scott as he is known at Hippychick, has been providing a repair service of used Wheelybugs behind the scenes since Hippychick first took them on 11 years ago.

“Only a handful of people take advantage of this unique facility at the moment” said Julia Minchin, Hippychick’s founder and managing director. “But Scott has shown such incredible aptitude and dedication in Wheelybug operations, that we have decided to officially launch The Wheelybug Clinic this summer, as part of Hippychick’s commitment to after sales service. From our point of view, it’s a positive environmental step. Instead of throwing away a toy that is fundamentally sound but might have lost one of its wheels or has a rip in its skin, customers can now take advantage of a professional repair service that has it looking as good as new.”

The service is open to consumers, however customers are able to return a Wheelybug to an independent retailer who could then send it to the clinic as a part of their customer service.

Dr Scott says that he regularly treats any damage to the surface of the skin by re-skinning the bugs with the required designs all available at the workshop. This process can usually be done in under one hour. He can also supply new wheels and base boards that can suffer from wear and tear over time as well as new handles and horns to Wheelybug cows and antennae to Ladybirds and Bees.

Scott commented: “It’s a really rewarding job to return a much-loved Wheelybug back to a child who has formed a genuine attachment to it.”

The repair service starts at £15 for a new skin. Visit the website for more details or telephone 01278 434440.