'We'll miss being part of the community': Wellington's oldest charity shop shuts after 47 years

Oxfam, on Duke Street in Wellington, officially closed on Friday after 47 years of raising funds.

The store officially opened in April 1977 and has since raised thousands of pounds for the global charity aiming to end poverty.

The shop manager, who didn't wish to be named, said that she and her staff of dedicated volunteers have loved being part of Wellington over the years.

"We've enjoyed being part of the community, we've had loads of regular customers - you get to know their names and faces.

"We'll miss being part of it. We want to say thank you to the community, to all of the customers and all of the volunteers we've had over the years."

A spokesperson for Oxfam said it had been a "difficult decision" to close the branch.

They said: “We have made the difficult decision to close the Telford Oxfam in Wellington. We are very sorry to have to make this choice and thank the staff and the excellent team of volunteers for their hard work and support.

"Customers can continue supporting or donating to Oxfam at our shop in Newport, or on Oxfam’s online shop.

“Oxfam shops exist to raise as much money as possible to fund our work with communities around the world to overcome poverty and suffering.

"We constantly evaluate the performance of all our shops and sometimes this leads to difficult decisions about the viability of particular shops, as it has in this case."