A Wokingham community café said that they have bounced back from disaster with the help of their many supporters across Berkshire and beyond.

Kimel Café, located on Evendons Lane was hit hard whenever a sinkhole caused Thames Valley to close the road for repairs.

The café, which was created by Nic Lander to support neurodivergent youngsters by providing jobs and work experience, has now hired another two workers and is seeing an increase in customers following the re-opening of the road.

Nic Lander said: “We got so much support via social media during a really difficult time and now that the road is back open, we’re back and better than ever

“We don’t have to worry about closing and we’re actually looking at some new projects elsewhere. We’re looking for other premises and we’ve got 19 kids off the dole queue that are neurodivergent. We want to do the same in other areas.

“Everyone is getting paid and they’re on a wage. We’re not there for volunteering. Volunteering is nice but we must pay the bills and it’s so much more fulfilling to pay a wage and contribute to a pension. We’re very happy with what they are doing.”

“We have new customers coming into the café to see what it’s about because they’ve seen it on social media about how good our coffee is and what we do and our story.

“A coffee shops a coffee shop, but this is us trying to do something good for neurodivergent people.”

According to a recent estimate, 20% of the population is neurodivergent. This includes people that suffer from disorders like ADHD, bipolar, autism and many others across the spectrum.

With the exception of a few companies like the Kimel Foundation there are very few services available to help neurodivergent young people find work.

Mr Lander said: “We’re reaching new people that perhaps don’t understand neuro-divergency but want to learn more about it.

“We’ve had a few people that have come up from Guildford recently. I asked why they had travelled up and they said that they had read about us and wanted to support the amazing job that we do.

“The reactions have been great and we’re so thankful.”