A CHARITY shop could face prosecution if people do not stop leaving their rubbish outside its doors.

Barnardo's, on Wanstead High Street, raises money for disadvantaged children and needs unwanted goods to re-sell in order to survive.

But it has been warned by the police and Redbridge Council that it could face prosecution for fly-tipping if people continue to leave donations in the street after hours causing, what they say, is an unsightly mess.

Helen Cozens, deputy manager at the shop, said people leave items outside the premises every night of the week, and before the volunteer staff can even get through the doors, they have to sift through a barrage of normally unsellable items such as illegal electrical goods, damp and smelly carpets and even household rubbish.

Miss Cozens said she blamed irresponsible residents, too lazy to go to the tip, and said the charity has even had to fork out cash which could have gone to children to pay for the removal of a three-piece suite which was dumped on its doorstep.

She said: "People put stuff here and call it donations but we don't see it as donations because we never actually receive it.

"A lot of it is just rubbish and they don't realise we can get prosecuted because people root through it and chuck it all over the road.

"When we come here in the mornings we don't expect to have to get covered in rubbish and it's dangerous too because sometimes there's knives in with the stuff."

Miss Cozens said dumping was a problem for all charity shops, but it had been made much worse in recent years since the charity for the elderly, Abbeyfield, left the High Street, leaving them with double the number of unwanted donations.

She said: "Now we're the only charity shop around, we get everyone's stuff.

"It's hard because, when you're trying to do something good and raise money for the children but you can't even get through the door without literally shovelling dirt, it can be disheartening."

The Wanstead shop said it would like to thank residents for all their kind donations but have requested they are only left during opening hours.