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BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS
If you think the NHS has a long waiting list, spare a thought for Frances May's patients who can wait up to 18 months to be treated.
That is because Mrs May is one of only a handful of expert doll restorers left in Britain and people travel from all over the country for her services.
Mrs May, 59, is so in demand she has now stopped taking new enquiries until she can clear the backlog of broken baby dolls.
She runs Dartington Dolls Hospital from a room at her home in the village near Totnes, Devon, and faces challenges daily that would make experienced surgeons balk - from cracked skulls to missing eyes and amputations.
The macabre shelves of her workshop look like something from the Hammer House of Horrors - with boxes of limbs, spare heads and extra eyeballs peering out from every corner.
A simple restringing would cost about £40 but a doll that needs lots fixed can cost as much as £700.
Pic: PhilYeomans/BNPS
If you think the NHS has a long waiting list, spare a thought for Frances May's patients who can wait up to 18 months to be treated.
That is because Mrs May is one of only a handful of expert doll restorers left in Britain and people travel from all over the country for her services.
Mrs May, 59, is so in demand she has now stopped taking new enquiries until she can clear the backlog of broken baby dolls.
She runs Dartington Dolls Hospital from a room at her home in the village near Totnes, Devon, and faces challenges daily that would make experienced surgeons balk - from cracked skulls to missing eyes and amputations.
The macabre shelves of her workshop look like something from the Hammer House of Horrors - with boxes of limbs, spare heads and extra eyeballs peering out from every corner.
A simple restringing would cost about £40 but a doll that needs lots fixed can cost as much as £700.
©PhilYeomans 15 May 2017 4911x3091 / 1.4MB