POLICE donated six bags of unclaimed items to a Colchester charity shop.

The town’s police station gets hundreds of items of either lost or stolen property every month.

While it is kept during any police investigation, officers cannot keep it indefinitely.

Instead of throwing it away, PCSO Jackie Tyrrell, from the Colchester Town Neighbourhood Policing Team, and property supervisor Julie Booth, based at Colchester police station, handed six bags of unclaimed clothes, bottles of perfume and other items, to Mandy Lythgo, at Age Concern, in Crouch Street.

Julie said: “We always have quite a few items that just never find their way back to their owners.

“We keep hold of them for a month after being handed in or until the investigation is completed and instead of throwing them away, we like to donate them to a charity.”

Mandy, from the shop, said: “We’re so grateful for this donation. The money we raise stays in Colchester so it’s fantastic that so many people support this local cause.”