Saf Fakir takes woodwork class at Byron Primary School, Bradford

Saf Fakir, a bespoke furniture maker from Thornbury, held the first in a series of two-hour woodwork sessions for pupils at Byron Primary School in Barkerend Road.

He taught the first group of children, aged between eight and 11, how to make a gumball machine, and they all got to take home their own creations.

Saf Fakir says he enjoyed his first woodwork class at Byron Primary School

It was the first woodwork class which Mr Fakir, 42, will be running over six successive weeks at the school, with a different group of its pupils each time.

The interest grew quickly in Mr Fakir’s woodwork classes as initially he planned to teach 30 pupils over three weeks, but this has since more than doubled in size.

It was hammertime for pupils at Byron Primary School

Mr Fakir’s son, Rayan, aged nine, who is a pupil at Byron Primary School, took part in the first class, which was held on May 13.

Mr Fakir said: “It went really, really well. This was the pilot session.

"I want to create a whole thing to get more children into woodwork. It helps to get them off their tablets too.

“The children felt so grown up and confident doing it. Woodwork is good for their motor skills too.

“All of the gumballs they made worked well.

A pupil with her completed gumball machine

“I pre-cut all of the dangerous stuff before the class and the children got a saw and finished them off.”

Mr Fakir has shown his wood making skills on a number of TV shows.

These includes as one of the experts on Kings of the Wood, a new eight-part series on Quest, which was broadcast earlier this year.

The programme followed Mr Fakir and other members of a group of highly-skilled woodworkers, carpenters and cabinet makers, known as 'Kings', who teamed up to create unique and beautiful items of furniture for worthy recipients.

Pupils enjoyed the session held by Mr Fakir

The heart-warming show's creations include an aeroplane-shaped garden planter for an air ambulance paramedic and a birdbath for two foster carers and their children.

Mr Fakir's appearance on Kings of the Wood followed him working as a mentor on BBC Two's Jay's Yorkshire Workshop, presented by The Repair Shop's Jay Blades and filmed in Little Germany last year.

In the six-part series, Mr Fakir mentored Kate, of Tingley, and Jabbar, of Bradford, as they worked together to build six pieces of wooden furniture for deserving people.

One of the completed gumball machines