BOSSES at Asda store in Blackburn have resorted to a trolley amnesty in a final bid to save hundreds of pounds and raise money for charity.

More than 95 supermarket trolleys have disappeared since January from the Blackburn store but they can soon be returned in exchange for donations to the Magic Eye Appeal.

Missing trolleys worth £80 each have reportedly been used for anything from makeshift barbecues to central features in flower gardens.

Now Asda bosses are offering £1 donations to the Magic Eye Appeal for every trolley that is returned on Monday, September 2.

Asda Blackburn has also organised members of staff to form a trolley brigade who will travel around East Lancashire hunting down missing trolleys.

Carole Davis, organiser, said: "Last year we found them as far a field as Wilpshire but we thought exchanging a trolley for a donation to the appeal was a novel way of fund-raising."

Phil Hamilton, general store manager, said: "It is absolutely amazing the amount of trolleys that have gone missing. We have and continue to make every effort to stop them going walkabout but it appears to no avail.

"We are currently looking at alternative security measures to keep the trolleys in the stores as discarded trolleys are not only expensive to replace but they are also make the local landscape look untidy. Quite where they go is beyond me!"

Anyone wishing to return a trolley can leave it in a special area marked Trolley Amnesty.

Customers from the store are also being urged to "trolley spot" and if they see an abandoned trolley they can contact the customer service desk at the store.

Invisible trolley barriers which lock wheels to prevent them being taken out of the store are also being investigated to combat the problem.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph Magic Eye Appeal hopes to raise £200,000 for an endoscopic ultrasound scanner which will help with the quicker diagnosis of stomach and oesophagus cancers. The total currently stands at £56,049.

At present around 600 patients a year have to travel to Manchester or Liverpool to use similar diagnostic equipment.

Magic Eye raffle tickets to sell are available from the appeal co-ordinator Sheila Shaw.

For details contact 01254 293272.