Bristol charity shop's plea to keep donating

Shops raising money for Bristol charity St Peter's Hospice could suffer because of a TV show aimed at reviving the fortunes of charity shops.

In a recent episode of Mary Queen of Shops, the presenter Mary Portas upturned a bag of clothes and said: "We don't want people donating this rubbish."

But Janet Loud, who is in charge of 12 St Peter's Hospice shops in the Bristol area, said the comment sent the wrong message.

She said: "We are so grateful for all donations we receive. Even if an item of clothing has holes we will take it. It can be sold to a rag merchant for recycling.

"We are totally reliant on people in Bristol donating clothing and other items to us.

"We were very worried that the TV programme Mary Queen of Shops will give people the wrong idea. They will think their stuff is not good enough to give to us when it is.

"Please continue bringing in your old clothes to our shops. We would like lots of summer stock – dresses, skirts and sunglasses."