A NEW charity shop has opened up in town after an outpour of support for Ukraine's humanitarian crisis.

The pop-up shop, at the railway yard, in George Street, Harwich, initially started as a collection point for Ukrainian refugees.

But while sorting out some of the generous donations, volunteers realised not every item was suitable enough to be sent.

Instead of turning residents away, volunteers decided to set up a charity shop and sell the unused items.

The money is then used for the Harwich Ukraine Support Project, launched by local North Essex Support Team and run by Les Nicoll.

Gazette: Items - evening wear and prom gowns form part of the items at the charity shopItems - evening wear and prom gowns form part of the items at the charity shop

Kitty Claire Bridges, 43, of Harwich, who is one of the volunteers, said: "As we sorted through the amazing amount of donations we also had things that weren’t required or impractical to send.

"So to make use of every single donation we have set up a pop up charity shop using these items.

"There is vintage clothes, children's clothes, school uniforms, a large selection of toys, books and cookery.

"Every penny goes to the charity."

Eager to help those fleeing their country, volunteers were quick on their feet to transform the shop, which is now open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9am and 12pm.

The place also offers a special fill a bag offer for £3 with selected toys and clothes.

Kitty said: "We had a container on Harwich Space site that wasn’t being used.

"The volunteers cleaned it out, got shelving up, made a banner and a flag and turned it round very quickly.

"Everyone worked really hard over the past two weeks."

The shop, which no longer accepts donations, offers unique treasures such as toy collectibles, evening wear and even prom gowns.

Gazette: Generous - a wide selection of toys is also availableGenerous - a wide selection of toys is also available

The volunteers are however still collecting items for the Harwich Ukraine Support Project, including first aid equipment, medicines, toiletries, sleeping bags, blankets, and non perishable foods, as well as nappies and baby milk and food.

They have sent two lorries with essential items to Poland so far, with another lorry leaving for Moldova in the next 14 days.

Kitty added: "The Harwich community is amazing. We have always pulled together and this shows the generosity goes above and beyond."