STOP dumping rubbish on our front door is the message from charity shops across Dorset.

Mattresses, broken furniture, and a dead fox have all been dumped outside stores recently.

Fly-tippers are continuing to ditch their rubbish outside premises, leaving charities with the cost of disposing of the waste items.

Shelagh Meredith, Chair of Waggy Tails Rescue, said the situation had become a “nightmare”.

“We have four charity shops, which all have the same problem. We have to pay for these things to be removed – it costs us £200 a month to have rubbish collected at the moment.

“Old mattresses are common, as well as broken furniture, dirty clothes, old bicycles and prams. Stuff that’s broken is just left outside our shops because people can’t be bothered to dispose of it themselves.

“The problem is getting worse, and it might be due to the new charges at recycling centres,” she added.

Shelagh said all the charity’s shops had signage asking people not to leave items outside the stores.

“It’s a fire hazard as well,” she said.

“The council say it’s not their problem as the rubbish is on our patch, but it all adds to our bills.”

Waggy Tails store in Charminster has been a hotspot for dumping and the store manager, David Jones, said the problem is getting worse.

“In the space of one night we are getting piles of bags dumped outside the shop and we can’t even get to the front door,” Mr Jones said.

“I’ve had to deal with used nappies in bin bags and even broken glass in a bag full of children’s clothes and toys, which would have sold really well. “

He added: “I couldn’t take any chances and had to throw the whole bag.”

The manager of Age Concern in Tuckton, Irina Stadley, was horrified to discover a dead fox in a bin bag left on the charity’s doorstep recently.

“I’ve been working for the charity for five years and I’m no stranger to strange things, but I’ve never come across anything like this,” she said.

“I thought at first it was a toy, but there was a strange smell and I realised it was just a dead fox. It’s unbelievable someone would leave it outside our shop.”

Alastair Ramsey, general manager, said it cost the charity £100-150 to dispose of fly-tips left outside their stores.

He said: “It’s very common for people to donate items which are clearly unsellable. A lot of people use charity shops as a short-cut for the tip. It’s an irritation as it makes more work for us, which is not financially productive.”

He said the charity had put up “strong signage” outside its shops asking people only to make donations during opening hours.

“It’s reduced the amount being fly-tipped, but not completely eliminated it,” he added.