A large, stripey, stuffed sausage dog and a bag of beautiful, unworn, designer jackets were some of the more unexpected items donated to Age UK Northamptonshire at their static donations collection in Nether Heyford.

Shops Coordinator Yvette Prior (pictured) says the morning session in the village hall car park was the third the charity has held this year and the most successful so far.

“Everyone told us how pleased they were to see us there on Friday 22nd October, and they’d been wanting to donate their items for months. It’s not always easy for people living in rural villages to get to a charity shop, especially if you don’t have a car. We would like to thank everyone who helped make this collection such a success. We arrived at the car park in Nether Heyford at 10am and by 1pm the van was nearly full,” said Yvette.

“People tell us they had a large clearout during the first lockdown but with charity shops being closed for so long, and the coronavirus still not over, they’ve not found it easy to get to a High Street charity shop,” added Yvette.

“By bringing our large van to the village we like to think we have saved many good quality items from ending up in landfill. Donating saleable items to us is an excellent way of helping to improve life for older people in your community,” added Yvette.

Age UK Northamptonshire’s seven shops raised over £85,000 in the financial year 2019/2020 on a turnover of donated goods of over £485,000.

This was down £20,000 because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and the effects of the closures are expected to have a detrimental effect on the charity’s income in the financial year 2020/2021.

Money raised by the generous donations is vital and enables the charity to provide support and services to over 15,000 older people and their families every year.

Don’t miss Age UK Northamptonshire’s next static donations collection which will be on Monday 15th November at Brodie Lodge Playing Field in Flore.

To find out more about the services and support provided by Age UK Northamptonshire, or to get involved with fundraising activities, please visit www.ageuk.org.uk/northamptonshire or call 01604 611200.