A CHARITY shop manager was shocked to discover a van-load of junk dumped outside her store this week.

Joy Legg, of Tenovus Cancer Care, believes someone discarded the “rubbish” rather than make arrangements to dispose of it properly, a practice she says has increased in the years she’s managed the Christchurch Road shop.

Mrs Legg told the Daily Echo: “We get a lot of stuff left overnight, unfortunately the majority is usually rubbish. People go through it, steal what they want and leave us to manage what is left - which is normally useless.

“This is definitely not stuff we can use - anyone can see that. What are we going to do with an old door? This is flytipping, nothing less, and it will end up costing the charity.”

Staff spent an hour tidying up the junk - which included offcuts of wood, an old door, two rusty bicycles, parts of a smashed sofa and broken furniture - before opening up.

Mrs Legg, who was confronted with the rubbish on Tuesday morning, said: “Before I even left for work I had phone calls from local people preparing me and telling me it was the worst they’ve ever seen, and that I was going to need help just getting into the shop.

“On occasions, when this happens on a much smaller scale, my husband will come down and we will try and sort it out and take it to the tip.

“When I got down it was all over the path and at the front of our shop, it was blocking the pavement.

“I had to make a pathway just to get into the door.”

Bournemouth Borough Council was contacted and agreed to dispose of it properly.

“We’ve had so many people come in and say ‘Oh my God this is so disgusting,” said Mrs Legg. “It is obvious we cannot sell any of this, this is not someone dropping stuff for the shop - people think it’s OK to flytip their old rubbish here.

“I’ve been here for seven years and the problem is getting worse and worse.”