Firefighters across East Cambridgeshire are calling on the public to donate unwanted clothing and textiles in charity recycling banks at local fire stations.

More than 20 stations in the county – including those at Soham, Sutton, Littleport, Burwell and Ely - are competing to collect as much unwanted clothing as possible in the month of January to raise funds for the Fire Fighters Charity.

Martin Ockenden, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s representative for the charity, said: “If you are having a clear out after Christmas, we would really appreciate you popping your unwanted clothes, shoes and handbags in our big yellow donation banks. It doesn’t matter what state the clothing is in as it will all be recycled.

“This is a great scheme because it is of no cost to the charity and every penny raised from generous donations by the public goes towards the valuable work the charity does, including to support three rehabilitation centres.”

The teams are all hoping to be crowned top of the charity’s UK textile recycling league, which is a national competition among fire stations based on the quantity of textiles collected throughout January.

For every tonne gathered at the recycling banks the Fire Fighters Charity receives £220, and since being launched, the scheme has raised £1 million nationwide.