It was the 'creepiest place in Manchester'. But it mended so many hearts

Imagine being a child, pushing open a door to a old shop - you cough as your lungs fill with the smell of dust and glue. It's dark, but through the door there's a steep narrow staircase; you walk up to the top and into a cramped room.

Above you disembodied heads hang - fixed with rictus grins; there are torsos and limbs dangling from hooks. In the corner an old man wearing a hat works away in the gloom.

As you walk towards him, a jar full of eyes follows your every step. The one-eyed doll you had been dragging is now clutched close to your chest. It sounds like a scene from a horror movie or a nightmare, but it couldn't have been further from the truth.

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This place was, in fact, where broken hearts were mended. I'm talking about Manchester Dolls Hospital.

Based on London Road since the 1930s, the Doll's Hospital became a familiar landmark in Manchester not far from Piccadilly Station. For over 50-years, parents took their children's cherished dolls to the shop's owner, John Higgins, to be mended.

Known as Doc Higgins, he was the surgeon-in-residence that put the smile back on the faces of generations of inconsolable children. The shop even had an 'ambulance' that would pick up sick dolls from homes and return them safely once they had 'healed'.

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But it seems the shop was not the most inviting place, particularly to a young child reticent to hand over a much loved doll in need of repair. When a photograph showing the Dolls Hospital was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the @inostalgiauk account in 2020 - one response simply said: "The Dolls Hospital was