Local charity shops are continue to warn people not to dump unwanted items outside their locked shops, warning that not only is it against the law, things left will have to put in landfill anyway.

The Age UK shop in Radstock has a sign in the window warning that leaving goods outside the shop when it is closed is a simple case of flytipping.

In addition to being illegal and unsightly, donations can attract rats.

Because of this and the fact that when the shops are allowed to re-open they will not be able to ensure that the donations are completely hygienic, everything left outside will have to be thrown away.

Today in Midsomer Norton there were even more donations in the doorway of the Dorothy House shop next to The Hollies. Last week there were items posted through the letter box.

On a comment on Radstock Nub News one of the charity shop managers said: " We are not able to sell them when we eventually do reopen, so it all has to go in a bin for landfill, which costs the already struggling charities a huge amount of money that should be used to support their causes. "

According to a report in The Observer newspaper on Sunday, in a normal year, charity shops across the UK take £1.4bn in revenue, with about £330m in profit for parent charities.