An avalanche of new stock has been arriving at Trinity Hospice’s donation centre – with an incredible 280 bags of clothes and four items of furniture handed over on the first day.

It’s a massive boost for the hospice, whose chain of 17 shops has been shut since March, leaving a huge hole in its income.

Paul Guest, Trinity and Brian House Head of Retail, said: “Thank you everyone! We have been overwhelmed with kindness. So many people have said they had been patiently saving things up, ready to donate to us, when we had been so worried that some might have been tempted to throw things away during lockdown.

“What a wonderful response so far – keep it coming. Every item we can re-sell helps keep hospice care on the Fylde Coast free for all those who need it.”

The shops bring in over £350,000 a year and the hope is that they will start to re-open on June 15th. Trinity Hospice launched an emergency appeal six weeks ago to help plug an estimated £1 million gap in funding this year because of the Covid-19 crisis, caused by the retail shut-down and cancellation of fundraising events.

Paul added: “The first day was manic but hugely enjoyable – we laughed a lot and met some lovely people. Let’s hope we can get back to something like normal business soon.”

The donation centre on Talbot Road Blackpool is open 9-4 Monday to Saturday.