BOSSES at a Chester hospice are urging people not to leave donated items outside their charity shops.

Bags of donations are continuing to be being left outside Hospice of the Good Shepherd shops, despite requesting people not to do so.

The shops are currently closed due to the pandemic and the staff have been furloughed, so any donations left outside are being ruined by any bad weather, or people are rummaging through the bags and leaving donations strewn across the pavements.

Caroline Siddall, director of income generation at the hospice in Backford, said: “At the hospice we are always incredibly grateful to receive donations to our charity shops. However, we ask that you please do not leave your donations outside our shops as they are currently closed due to the pandemic meaning we are unable to deal with them.”

She continued: “With the bad weather we’ve had recently, once the donations get wet we cannot use them and they must be disposed of at our own expense. The bags also have people looking through them resulting in the contents being littered across the pavement which isn’t a great sight for our neighbours and local residents.”

“We are also asking local residents to be vigilant and report anyone who is leaving donations outside the shops as it is classed as fly tipping.”

“We want to thank everyone who has held onto their donations for their continued support and we hope to welcome everyone back to the shops as soon as we can reopen safely.”

The Hospice of the Good Shepherd serves the communities of West Cheshire, Chester, Ellesmere Port, Deeside and the surrounding areas, caring for patients with life-limiting conditions and supporting bereaved families.

The dedicated team of staff and healthcare professionals aim to meet the unique physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of those with life-limiting conditions, and to help maintain their dignity.

It provides specialist palliative care for people with cancer and non-cancer life-limiting conditions. The hospice offers physical, emotional and spiritual care for patients, as well as family support and bereavement services.

Less than 25 per cent of its £3.8 million annual running costs comes from statutory sources, - the rest comes from fundraising, donations, events and corporate partnerships. It costs approximately £11,000 a day to run the hospice.