Published: Saturday, 13th March, 2010 10:00am

Recession bites hard for pet charity shop

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A LONG-standing charity shop in Windsor is being forced to close its doors after more than two decades.

The PDSA shop in Peascod Street, which raises cash for sick animals, will be closing after being hit by a drop in donations of goods and takings since the recession began.

The store, which has been in the town for 22 years, will trade for the last time on Thursday, April 15.

PDSA director of business services, Andrew Holl, said: "It was no longer considered financially sustainable and we had the opportunity to vacate the property after the current lease came to an end.

"We made the difficult decision to close as remaining open is not in the best interests of the charity. We are extremely grateful for the loyal support of its staff, volunteers and customers over the last 22 years and wish to thank everyone who supported the charity."

PDSA, which has no other stores in the area, has seen a 22 per cent drop in the number of goods being donated in January and February to its retail outlets this year in comparison to the same period last year.

Manager at the shop Ben Muggleton said: "We've seen sales dropping off since Christmas and it's likely other charity shops have suffered in the same way. The shop has been here for a very long time and it will be missed by people."

Manager from the neighbouring Oxfam store said that he too had seen a drop in donations in recent times. Daniel Ortiz said: "It has been hard for most charities.

"Our store room used to be constantly full with donations from people and now it is empty. We've never had this problem before. It is such a pity to see the PDSA shop go, we've always had a good relationship with them."

PDSA provides free veterinary treatment for the sick and injured pets of people in need. For more information visit www.pdsa.org.uk