‘Happy to Chat’ benches have arrived in Aberystwyth thanks to one ex-student.

Living on the seafront, Amy Wilkins would see the same empty bench outside her house every day.

Knowing the loneliness that some of her fellow students were facing, being away from their homes and, for some, their countries, she wanted to do something good for the town.

Inspired by her Grandad who loved to make people smile, and the ‘Happy to Chat’ benches that sprang up 2019 thanks to one Cardiff woman, Amy decided to create her own Community Smile Scheme.

Since mid-October, two ‘Happy to Chat’ signs have been placed on benches on South Beach and one on North Beach, encouraging people who want to, to chat.

Amy, 25, who works at a special needs school, said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic especially, I would see people going for walks alone and older people who may not have had people to talk to.

“This is a simple way to try and tackle loneliness.

“Part of my inspiration for this was my Grandad, who was happy if he made someone smile or laugh that day, because he knew that the smiles and laughs that we have daily are the moments that keep us going.

“After serving in World War II, he still tried to make others happy.”

His signature smiley face on cards is now the icon for her ‘Happy to Chat’ benches.

In 2019, Allison Owen-Jones from Cardiff was inspired after watching an elderly man sitting alone in a city for 40 minutes without anyone saying hello.

Her scheme has since been taken up across the world, from Ukraine to Australia.

However this isn’t the end of Amy’s Community Smile Scheme, planning to launch free umbrella stands called Aber-ellas at the libraries in town “to keep people dry and give them a smile”.