This is how the clothes and shoes donation point in Frome for the Salvation Army looked yesterday (May 28).

There are a number of clothing banks in Frome - this one at the Badcox Car Park with junction on Nunney Road - but they all remain closed.

This has led to reports that when charity shops do re-open they will be overwhelmed with donated goods.

A spokesperson from The Salvation Army told Nub News:

"Our clothing banks are managed by our trading arm, Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd. To comply with government lockdown guidance, they temporarily stopped collections from clothing banks and closed shops, but are now preparing for a phased reopening.

"Unfortunately despite pleas not to leave donations outside clothing banks people have continued to dump bags outside closed clothing banks and we have needed to launch a clean-up squad to deal with the mess. We ask our kind donors to hold onto their items a little longer until lockdown restrictions on non-essential retail begin to lift and our banks can be emptied.

"Over the next few weeks our clothing banks will begin to reopen as collections resume and our shops begin to reopen starting with the larger sites where it easier to maintain social-distancing. Please see www.satcol.org for updates to this information. Thank you for your understanding."

The chief executive of the Charity Retail Association told reporters that shops that have been shuttered for nearly nine weeks are facing a 'deluge' of donations when they reopen for business.

But he added that many may not re-open with other normal shops because many of the volunteers who staff them will be expected to continue to shield under current government coronavirus rules.

The Salvation Army collection points are a valuable source of income for the charity. On their site they state:

An estimated £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to waste in landfill every year

Giving your unwanted clothing and household items to SATCoL's clothing collection banks, diverts items going to landfill, and raises millions of pounds every year for The Salvation Army

For every tonne of textiles reused rather than sent into landfill, greenhouse gas emissions (a major cause of global warming) are reduced by 7 tonnes

Extending the average life of clothes by nine months would save £5 billion in resources used to supply, launder and dispose of clothing.

Earlier this week in Midsomer Norton, the Dorothy House Hospice site re-opened as a limited time donation station.

Dorothy House was ONLY taking the following:

• Clean clothes
• Books
• small bric a brac

The shop did NOT take:

• DVD's
• Bedding
• Furniture
• Electricals

Nub News has approached the charities for more details on when they might re-open and how people can help until they do.