A large charity donation was at risk of damage after being dumped outside in the rain while the shop was closed.

The small patio outside EACH's charity shop in Diss was filled with old items for donation, including a dismantled Wendy House and a chest of drawers.

Dumping donations outside charity shops is often an issue and in bad weather it can lead to the items being damaged and unable to be sold to raise funds.

Davina Scales, who has been the manager at EACH in Diss for two years, said: 'We really do appreciate every donation we receive – we couldn't continue supporting the vital work of our care teams without the generosity of the people of Diss – but please, please, please drop in your donations whilst we're open.

'Not only does it take us time to clear the items, especially when bags are split from people having rummaged through them, but they're often ruined or unsaleable and its costs us precious money to discard them.

'It's heartbreaking to come to work every Monday morning to find a mountain of bags and other items that we most often have to throw away.'

The shop in Chapel Street is open from Monday to Saturday between 9am and 5pm and welcomes all donations during this time.

However since Mrs Scales took over as manager people leaving donations outside has been a serious problem.

While the issue tends to peak during the summer it can still be a concern throughout the year with even huge items being left in the past, including a double bed and a fridge freezer.

In a bid to combat the issue EACH are in the process of preparing a banner which will be on display outside the shop encouraging people to drop off their donations during opening hours.

In the meantime a sign is in the shop's door advising potential donators to not leave their contributions outside the store when they are closed.

A spokesman for the charity said: 'If this does not have the desired effect, we will consider what other options are available to us.'