CHARITY shops have been “inundated” with donations and customers looking for a bargain after re-opening yesterday as lockdown restrictions eased further.

With the re-opening of non-essential retail shops allowed from April 12, charity shops welcomed back customers from Monday.

In advice published by membership body the Charity Retail Association (CRA), it anticipated strong trading and high levels of donations.

Sandy Osborne, manager of Barnardo’s charity shop in Brighton Hill, said they had been “inundated” with customers and donations since re-opening.

She told the Gazette: “We have had mounds of people and mounds of donations. It’s been chaotic. It’s good because obviously the charity has suffered really badly this last year, but it’s also hard on us because we haven’t got as many volunteers. Lots of our volunteers are in their 70s and don’t want to come back until they have had their second vaccine.”

The manager said people have been bringing in donations they have been holding onto for months, explaining: “We have had lots of clothes and brick-a-brack and books. We now have lots of sorting to do, and hanging and pricing it all up.”

She said regular customers were pleased to be able to return, adding: “It’s a busy shop anyway but yesterday all the regulars came in. It’s great to see them again and we made lots of money yesterday.”

Donations can be taken into the shop between 10am and 3pm Monday to Saturday.

St Michael’s Hospice also welcomed back customers to its charity shops, posting a Tweet about the excitement saying: “Yes, we’re open! Our retail team are delighted to welcome you back to our stores! Please pop in to say hello and browse our fantastic range of pre-loved items.”

Chris Griffiths, commercial director for the Basingstoke charity, said: “We are just coming out of a very difficult period for the country and we are delighted that people want to support our stores, which in the past have raised more than £500,000 annually in profits for St. Michael’s.”

He added: “We are hoping that people come along and support our stores so that they can get back to helping support patients and families in North Hampshire. Our immensely dedicated team of staff and volunteers are working extremely hard to not only sell items in our stores but also to process donations at our Distribution Centre on Wade Road”.

Anne Schuster, head of retail, said St Michael’s Hospice was pleased to welcome customers back to the shops, adding: “We have worked hard to make the experience as safe as possible.

“Our shops cannot be successful without generous donations from people who bring us their good quality items and we rely on them so much. However, we would encourage people to follow the guidance on our website before they come along with donations so that they are not wasting their journeys.”

Research conducted by waste charity WRAP, suggested that the British public has set aside 67 million items of clothing and 22 million pairs of shoes to take to charity shops.

St Michael’s Hospice previously urged people not to bring in broken, dirty or unsafe items.

Sue Foyle, donation centre manager for the hospice, said people were bringing in rubble from the garden, saucepans with food still in them, fence panels and broken toys.

“These things all have to go into a skip which we have to pay to have taken away and right now we are filling that skip twice every week. We have had people coming from as far away as Guildford with items we can’t accept,” she said.

The CRA has urged the public to check with their local charity shops for opening times, and whether there are special arrangements for accepting donations.

Robin Osterley, chief executive of the CRA, said: “We are anticipating very strong trading when charity shops reopen, driven by high levels of stock as people donate large volumes of pre-loved belongings stored up during lockdown.”

He said charity shops are “well-prepared to bounce back to life right away” adding: “There are comprehensive measures in place to keep people safe and innovative plans to deal with large volumes of donations.

“It was hugely impressive and heart-warming to see all the work being done by charity shop staff and volunteers to get ready for reopening.”