The 'disgusting' mess Salvation Army 'bin dippers' left behind after 'raiding charity donations'

This was the 'absolutely disgusting' mess left outside a Midlands charity shop after 'donations were raided'. A huge pile of children's toys, clothes, shoes and even Christmas decorations were left strewn outside the Salvation Army in West Bromwich over the weekend.

Those living in the town said it was a familiar sight at the Dudley Street store as they insisted 'something needs to be done'. Some blamed those leaving donation bags outside the shop when it was shut, while others claimed they'd seen people 'climb in the bins and pass everything out'.

Locals have described the situation as "disgusting" and accused those responsible of having "no respect". Reacting to the situation on the I live in West Bromwich 2 Facebook group, one member said: "People who leave the bags should be prosecuted for fly tipping. People think they are doing good donating but too lazy to wait for the shop to be open."

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A similar comment read: "Why are people leaving the bags there? They know what happens. This costs the charity more in the long run. May as well just bin it because that's all that's going to happen now. Just another day in the life of West Bromwich. No one has any pride."

A third wrote: "Who is willing to park across these on a weekend in shifts to stop people dropping and stop these bin dippers making the mess they are? I'm in, I'll happily do a shift."

A spokesperson for The Salvation Army said: “It really saddens us to see this situation at our West Bromwich donation centre. We have a really dedicated team of staff and volunteers who love their job, they love their community and they try their hardest to help raise funds for our charity. Our West Bromwich team’s focus is to repurpose generous donations which can be resold, and also means the items are diverted away from disposal.

“When fly tipping like this happens, it causes so much work for our teams, and it is disheartening for them. Our locally-based clothing bank collectors often step in to provide back up to the West Bromwich donation centre when this happens. However, we really need to rely on the authorities to help with this and to help our team and charity. We will continue to try and find a resolution to this and we thank the public for their donations, the majority of which are given to us in a way we are able to make good use of and help people in need.”

Sandwell Council said it was aware of the situation and would be in touch with the Salvation Army to work towards a solution. West Midlands Police said it would "look to act" if reports of criminal behaviour were received. A spokesperson for the force added: "We continually work with partners to make West Bromwich town centre a great place to live and work."