Teen trying to bring back straw hat-making

A Luton teenager is determined to keep his town's hat-making tradition alive by making and selling straw boaters.

The Bedfordshire town was once home to 200 hat manufacturers, with children as young as three learning to plait straw, but only a handful exist nowadays.

James Anderson, 19, makes some of his hats at home and uses the facilities of another factory to create the traditional headwear, which he then sells on - including to many Hatters fans who took a recent trip to Wembley to see Luton Town win the Vertu trophy.

"I thought, I'm quite handy at DIY and a bit of engineering, so I'll have a crack at it," he said.

"The straw hat is what built Luton. We pioneered this technology."

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