STAFF from Oxford's Marks & Spencer stores swapped their fine garments for old clothes as they volunteered to paint a centre which provides food and shelter for the city's homeless.

As part of a national 'Spark Something Good' project, about 20 staff at M&S gave up their time over two days this week to give the The Porch day centre in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, a facelift.

Employees from the Summertown, Cowley and Queen Street branches of M&S painted and decorated rooms through the centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ian Rolle, commercial manager at M&S Queen Street store said the project went 'incredible well'.

He added: "We found was that there was so much energy and so many positive vibes on the day.

"It was overwhelming really.

"We managed to do a lot more than originally planned."

The volunteers initially planned to decorate the reception area, hallway and the stairwell on the second floor, but managed to give the front of the building, its logo and a counselling room a lick of paint too.

Spark Something Good launched in July 2015 in London.

Since then 10 teams around the country have carried out 24 projects to make a difference in the communities where they operate.

The Porch day centre serves a lunch and evening meal, for a minimal cost, for vulnerable and homeless people.

It grows much of it's own produce on local allotments

It also provides opportunities for people to learn IT skills, cooking and gardening, as well as having social interaction.

M&S contacted staff at The Porch day centre to ask how they could help them.

Mr Rolle said originally staff from Queen Street were planning to paint the centre before staff from the Summertown and Cowley branches joined.

He added: "We went with the homeless charity because it is very apparent that there is a big issue [of homelessness] in Oxford, especially in the town centre.

"We set out to help the homeless and just contribute to the community in any which was we could."

Founded by the All Saints Sisters of the Poor in 1986, The Porch has welcomed hundreds of homeless men and women over the years.

The centre was run initially by volunteers at All Saints Convent in Magdalen Road.

The project has since grown into an independent charity with its own staff and is the only Oxford day centre open six days a week.

It provides about 200 people a year with an opportunity to move away from addiction and dependency.