A COLCHESTER homelessness charity has announced it will reopen two of its busy town centre shops this week.

Emmaus Colchester is reopening its Home Shop, in High Street, and The Works, in Magdalen Street, on Tuesday.

Both will be open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday going forward.

The New Life Shop including the New Life Café, in Crouch Street, will remain closed until further notice.

The charity temporarily suspended shop sales 13 weeks ago, although it has continued to raise funds through online sales through Instagram and its house clearance service.

A number of new safety measures have been put in place so the stores can reopen.

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Gemma Aylesbury, retail manager at Emmaus Colchester, said: “We have closely followed advice from the Government and Charity Retail Association and have implemented new measures in our Home Shop and The Works to ensure it is safe to re-open.

"All staff and volunteers have been fully trained on the new measures and will be equipped with face masks.

"Hand sanitiser points have been installed throughout the shop and screens positioned at till points.

"We will be limiting the number of customers at any one time to maintain social distancing and have changed the layout in our shops to accommodate this.”

Item donations are suspended for drop-offs, although donations can be collected by emailing transport@emmauscol.org

For updates, visit https://emmaus.org.uk/colchester or follow the charity’s Facebook page at @emmauscolchester for regular updates.