Charity shops in Shropshire and Mid Wales are reporting a massive surge in business since the beginning of the credit crunch, with shoppers desperate to find a bargain.

Donations are said to be “through the roof” over the past 12 months, according to shop managers. They say people are leaving behind the larger chain stores and opting instead for picking up secondhand clothes, games, DVDs and CDs.

Elaine East, manager of The Salvation Army store, New Street, Wellington, said the past year had been the busiest she could remember.

“Since the credit crunch, the shop has become a hive of activity and people are flooding through the doors to find all the latest bargains we have on offer and also to help support a needy cause,” she said.

“At the moment we are having to turn furniture away because we are having so much donated to us, including sofas, tables and chairs.

“We are also receiving more than 300 new items of clothing each day, which works out at about a ton of clothing every week – and it is flying off the shelves. 

“This has been a fantastic period for the shop and I hope that while the economic situation gets better for everybody, they still continue to see what we have to offer.”

The PDSA charity shop in Wellington is also enjoying a successful time during the recession. A spokeswoman for the charity, which has its head office in Whitechapel Way, Priorslee, Telford, said: “We are doing quite well so far, even though the credit crunch is biting many people.”

Charity shopper Jane Rowland, of Wellington, said: “I donate a range of items to charity shops in Wellington and further afield – it is rather nice to do so, I always feel.

“It is nice to give something back to people who are maybe less fortunate than ourselves and I always tend to buy something from the shops when I pop in too.”

Andrew Ray, retail area manager for Severn Hospice, which has 17 shops stretching from Wellington to Machynlleth, said: “We sell such a range of goods we are definitely benefiting from the recession.

“People are certainly changing their habits at a time when they have less money in their purse.”

David Moir, of the Association of Charity Shops, said: “Charity shops are well placed to weather economic storms as cash-strapped consumers turn to them for value for money.”