Charity shop shows 'dirty and bizarre' donations

Ms Brennan said damaged denim is often made into scraps for upcycling to extend the life of the clothes

A charity shop manager has gone viral after showing the "dirty and bizarre" donations she receives in abundance.

Caitlin Brennan, who runs Golden Oldies in Keynsham, Somerset, says 50% of donations are dirty or damaged, and in one case, even lived in by rodents.

She feels people often use the shop as a tip, forcing staff to rummage through filthy bags before leaving the store to pay to dispose of unwanted donations.

In a video posted to TikTok, which has had 130,000 views, she showcased examples of poor-quality items charity shops are unable to sell in a bid to raise awareness.

Ms Brennan urged people to think whether they would gift the item to a friend before donating to charity

Ms Brennan, who also works part time at a recycling centre and landfill, says some of the discarded rubbish there is in better condition than what she sees at the charity shop.

"It's absolutely bizarre," she told BBC Radio Bristol.

"My rule of thumb is 'would you be happy giving this to one of your friends?' Because if you wouldn't, then I don't want it.

"It's been nice to connect with other charity shop managers and volunteers to know that, unfortunately, I'm not alone.

"It's the same for everybody, we're all receiving massively poor-quality donations."

Shop manager Caitlin Brennan said "the smell hits" when a donation bag of unwashed clothes is opened

Examples include a "well-seasoned" frying pan, dirty underwear, destroyed records, tracksuit bottoms with a tear across the crotch, dead spiders, and a mouldy sweet necklace - which she initially mistook for cow print.

"I had a woman's ankle boot a couple of weeks ago that looked like it had bite marks in it, and the whole shoe was full of seeds," she said.

"Something had been living inside of it."

Ms Brennan pulled this 'cow print necklace' out of the bin, wondering why her colleagues had thrown it away, only to realise it was a mouldy children's sweet

Ms Brennan says the charity remains grateful for donations, but is urging people to use "common sense".

"We're not asking for everything to be straight out of a washing machine or neatly pressed," she said.

"But the amount of times you open a bag and you can see someone has just picked up their dirty clothes and put it in a bag. The smell hits you.

"I'm really pleased that I'm able to build a platform that helps people to know what is helpful and what isn't.

"But also as a bit of entertainment, because the things we see do make us laugh."