A CHARITY shop in Waterfoot is appealing to people to stop leaving bags of donated goods outside the shop after more than 50 blocked the entrance.

Yvonne Goggins, who runs the Mencap shop on Burnley Road East, said: "The door is covered by a gate which opens inwards, so it was impossible to get in. My husband had to climb over them to unlock it, then he and another Mencap committee member spent hours clearing the bags."

She suspected someone had cleared out a house and dumped all the old rags and rubbish.

"We have a sign up asking for people to only leave items when the shop is open," she said.