Staff and volunteers at St Giles Hospice are happy to receive unwanted gifts this Christmas.

The hospice, which cares for people living with cancer and other serious illnesses, has fourteen charity shops selling a wide range of products including items for the home, clothes, books, CDs, videos and DVDs.

By donating unwanted presents, local people can help fund the high-quality care the charity provides.

Lynwen Truesdale, General Manager of St Giles Hospice Shops, explains: “Each Christmas we all receive gifts which aren’t quite right for us – the clothes which don’t quite fit, gadgets we already have or ornaments we can’t find a home for.

“But that doesn’t mean they aren’t perfect for someone else.

“Instead of hiding them away in a cupboard, we can find new homes for these gifts a by selling them in our shops so that they will not only bring enjoyment to others, but also help fund our valuable work in the local community.”

Donations of unwanted Christmas presents can be made at any of the hospice shops across the region, please click here for details.

Items, including furniture, can also be brought to the hospice shops’ warehouse at the Birchbrook Industrial Park in Shenstone on any weekday morning.

St Giles Hospice Shops play a vital role in funding the care offered by the hospice, a registered charity based in Whittington, near Lichfield.

The fourteen shops are based in major towns throughout the hospice's patient catchment area, from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

The charity has specialist bookshops in Atherstone and in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield and a warehouse offering a wide range of high-quality furniture at value-for-money prices is based in Shenstone, near Lichfield. A selection of furniture is also available at the Cannock and Wylde Green shops.

Last year the hospice shops raised a total of £510,000 – with every penny going towards carrying out St Giles Hospice’s vital work. The charity spends over £5 million a year caring for local people with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers, and relies heavily on the support of local people to enable its valuable work to continue.