A busy Cirencester charity shop is asking donors to plan ahead in order to help it cope with strict safety measures during the pandemic.

The Barnardo’s store in Bishop Walk has been inundated with donations after residents ‘de-cluttered’ their homes during lockdown.

The children’s charity is grateful for the support but now has less storage space as all items have to be quarantined for 48 hours, and there are fewer volunteers available to sort and price the stock.

Therefore donors are asked to telephone before visiting the store in order to check the team can accept donations, and to book a slot to avoid disappointment.

Barnardo’s store manager Tanya Stabler said: “We’re sincerely grateful to everyone for their support during these difficult times, and we’ve done our very best to accept donations whenever possible.

“However, the quarantine rules mean we have very limited space in which to store the bags which are coming in every day, and the physical distancing rules mean we have a smaller team available to go through everything.

“In addition, our opening hours have been reduced so that more time is available for cleaning.

“Therefore we’re asking residents to call us beforehand to book a date and time for when we can accept their donations.

“This will help to ensure they won’t face a wasted journey, as well as reducing the number of people potentially visiting the store at the same time.

“We hope donors will be patient and understanding, and will hold onto their donations for just a little while longer so that we can still benefit from their generosity.”