Ely fire station finished in the top ten among stations which took part in a national charity recycling competition.

Eight tonnes of unwanted clothing and textiles were donated at The Fire Fighters Charity clothing banks at fire stations across Cambridgeshire throughout the month of January, raising £1,734.

Chatteris Fire Station just missed out on a podium place landing fourth, with St Neots finishing seventh and Ely ninth.

Some 530 fire stations in the UK took part in the competition, which ran throughout January, and crews in Cambridgeshire rallied local communities to donate clothing and textiles into the recycling banks at stations.

Graham Stagg, chief fire officer at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “These successes at our Cambridgeshire fire stations are testament to the generous people in the local communities who have endlessly supported our stations and crews in their work and charity efforts.”

The Fire Fighters Charity’s national recycling scheme sends wearable items to developing countries to help those who are experiencing situations resulting in extreme poverty.

Un-wearable items are recycled into other day-to-day products such as car insulation and furniture padding. For every tonne raised The Fire Fighters Charity receives £275.

John Parry, chief executive of The Fire Fighters Charity, added: “In total, we collected more than 116 tonnes of clothing during January 2014, compared to just 98 tonnes in the same month last year.

“With the addition of collections from door-to-door, schools and community site collections through the month, the charity made more than £32,000.”