Anger at 'disgraceful' and 'inappropriate' sign outside South Shields charity shop

The offending notice was on the window of The Children’s Society shop in Dean Road, South Shields – and its presence discouraged local man Derek Campbell from supporting the charity.

Derek, 57, had spotted the sign while out and about and decided to collect some of his own items to help the cause.

He intended to take them into the branch to donate and speak to staff about the “inappropriate” sign while he was there.

But the Dean Road shop remains closed for the time being, and he took his donations to the Salvation Army clothes bank instead.

Derek said: “Can you imagine if you have taken nice clothes into the shop, a couple of nice dresses or maybe your daughter’s prom dress, and you see a sign like that? How would you feel going into the shop?”

The 57-year-old branded the sign’s wording – which used swear words – as a “total disgrace”, arguing that a message not to leave donations outside while the branch was shut could have been worded differently.

The offending sign, photographed by Derek last week, said: “This shop is obviously shut. Don’t dump your s*** outside it. There are plenty of other charity shops that would benefit.

"It is just getting wet and p***** on here.”

The Children’s Society confirmed in a statement to the Gazette that the sign – which was not placed there by the charity – was removed after the organisation was alerted by a member of the public.

Patricia Cook, the charity’s Retail Operations Manager, said: “After a member of the public kindly alerted us to the offensive notice that someone had put on the outside of our shop, we took it down.

"We know there has been some local frustration about items being left outside the shop, which remains closed for the time being.

"We can’t accept donations at the shop at the moment so would ask people not to leave them outside.

“We have been reopening our shops on a phased basis, starting with larger shops where social distancing can be most easily implemented alongside all other Government safety guidelines.

"We don’t yet have a date for reopening the South Shields shop but are keeping the situation under constant review and thank our loyal customers, supporters, staff and volunteers for their patience and understanding.”

A new sign has now been placed on the shop window, alerting customers to the ongoing closure and requesting that items are not left outside on the street.

The notice, pictured by the Gazette on Friday, August 28, said: “Do not leave donations outside the shop when it is closed. It [sic] gets stolen. It becomes a health hazard as people go through it and leave it all over the street.

"Staff and volunteers cannot get safely into the shop.”

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