St Helena Hospice's Essex warehouse 'full to brim' with post-lockdown donations

St Helena Hospice, which runs 13 shops in north Essex, said last year it spent £64,000 on disposing of donated goods it could not sell

Half of all the items donated to a charity amid post-lockdown clearouts are unsellable, a hospice warned.

St Helena Hospice, which runs 13 shops in north Essex, says its warehouse is "full to the brim".

Recent items donated include used candles, jeans covered in paint and worn out boots.

The head of retail for the Colchester hospice, Ian Daniels, said the cost of disposing of such items runs to tens of thousands of pounds.

Among the donated items received by the hospice was this used candle

"Last year alone we spent £64,000 on waste and I expect that will be more this year," Mr Daniels said.

"It seems nearly everyone had a clearout during lockdown and many of them have donated some fantastic and good quality items which we can sell and raise vital funds from for the hospice. However, around half of the items we have received are not sellable.

"Unfortunately, this is something that all charities have to deal with and because of lockdown and the booking systems in place at recycling centres sadly some people think it's easier to give everything to us and we will sort it, but that does come at a cost to us."

The hospice is appealing to businesses with spare warehousing space that they could offer on a short-term basis to get in touch.