A city charity shop is hoping people will have a heart and support its annual ‘bag it, beat it’ campaign and donate items it can sell

The British Heart Foundation in Ely High Street launches its month long campaign on Saturday and is appealing for bags of clothes, toys, bric-a-brac and small household items.

Store manager Caroline Savins explained last year the store made a net profit of around £150,000 made possible because of the generosity of people donating goods to be sold.

All the money raised goes towards research to try to beat heart disease.

Mrs Savins said: “We are considered a member of the charity’s £100,000 club, because we raise at least that each year. But we always need good quality clothes, toys, bric-a-brac and other item like books and DVDs to sell.

“People occasionally gripe that charity shops are expensive but we have a duty to ensure we get the most we can for items. People who donate things to sell don’t expect them to be given away, so we do the best by them and in turn get the best price for the charity.”

The ‘bag it, beat it’ campaign launched on Saturday and will run until the end of September and this year’s campaig also sees the shop appealing for more volunteer drivers.

“We currently have around 82 volunteers for the shop, but only three volunteer drivers. They are the people who will go out and collect items from those who are unable to bring them to the shop. We really need about 20. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment a couple of hours one day a week would be a huge help and we pay petrol expenses,” she added.

To make a donation or to volunteer visit the shop in High Street or call 01353 659731.