PICTURES: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's War on Waste filmed at Maidenhill School in Stonehouse

The celebrity chef came to see the work of the ground-breaking organisation Waste Not Stroud on Thursday – which was set up after the show’s first season with the aim of addressing the issue of excess waste in the town.

A team of engineers from The Restart Project, based in London, and from Stroud came to fix a range of broken electrical items including a coffee machine, cassette player, computer and an e-reader and battery charger which Hugh brought himself at the group's Restart Party.

Ginny Smart, founder of Waste Not Stroud, said: "It has been really exciting to have Hugh come along and we had a really good turn-out.

"It was lovely to see people bring along all sorts of different items and for them to be able to get them fixed.

"We have had people bring items they thought would never work again.

"I was inspired to set up the group after watching the last episode of War on Waste when I was eating my dinner on the sofa and realised how much we waste.

"The idea is to show people that things can be repaired and they don't have to throw it away and buy new."

The producers of War on Waste chose to feature the group's work as a shining example of community frugality after its success over recent months.

During the filming session, Hugh was seen talking to residents about the items they had brought and to the organisers about the work of the group.

The episode is expected to be show on the BBC in May.