LEWIS-MANNING Hospice Care’s latest charity shop has opened its doors for the first time in Christchurch this week.

The shop, located at 42 – 44 High Street, will initially be open from 10am to 3pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and accepting donations on Wednesdays.

The retail team, which officially opened on Tuesday July 28, has put in place measures to ensure they can start to trade again, whilst keeping customers, staff and volunteers safe and following the guidance of the Government and Public Health England.

Director of Finance & Operations, Alison Dean said: “Our charity shop income has been hit hard during lockdown, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the wonderful generosity of people from our local communities who have continued to think about us, despite their own personal challenges.

“We’ve had some fantastic donations made as households have taken advantage of time during lockdown to spring clean and rearrange at home.

“We were overwhelmed with the response to our ‘Donation Station’ initiative and received so many amazing donations from people in the local area."

Shops in Wimborne, Westbourne and Ashley Cross will remain closed.

Numbers of people in the shops will be limited to ensure social distancing can be adhered to correctly, there will be antibacterial gel on hand for shoppers to use and customers must adhere to Government guidelines and wear facial masks when they are inside our shop.

Alison added: “We are very excited to be opening the doors to our new shop are looking forward to welcoming shoppers safely into our brand-new retail space where they will be able to pick up bargains galore.

“It’s also great to have the shop in Christchurch as we have an incredible team of nurses who help people with cancer, from this area, who are suffering from Lymphoedema as a result of their treatment.”