VOLUNTEERS at a charity shop never know what they will find when they open bags of unwanted items left on their premises.

Richard Smith

VOLUNTEERS at a charity shop never know what they will find when they open bags of unwanted items left on their premises.

Clothes, glasses, videos, records, electric salt and pepper mills, linen and toys find their way to the Oxfam shop in the Thoroughfare, Woodbridge.

So when manager Helen Forbes found an innocuous looking black bin liner she presumed it would contain more of the same.

But Mrs Forbes found four pairs of new Jimmy Choo shoes, including boots, wedges and slingback sandals, with a total value of more than �2,000.

“We are very lucky in Woodbridge with the calibre of things that are donated to us especially in this current economic climate.

“But we never thought we would find top quality designer shoes left with us - it is just nice that someone has thought of us,” she said.

However, the 45 volunteers working at the shop are also intrigued to know what lies behind the donation. The shoes are size 36, they are brand new, they had price tags and the owner could have made a lot of money by selling them on the internet.

Oxfam has made a window display highlighting the shoes and Mrs Forbes has knocked down the prices substantially.

But even still, prices of �375, �275, �250 and �195 could be beyond the reach of most shoppers and, if the shoes do not sell, then Oxfam will place them on the internet.

Mrs Forbes said: “Personally, I am not into Jimmy Choo shoes and I would be more interested in a handbag, but my 15-year-old daughter was thrilled when she heard about them and wants to see them.

“The Jimmy Choo range is a fashion and youth thing, and it is the name that young ones latch on to.

“When we first put them in the window we had a small queue of people waiting to come in and see them.”

Second hand shops have grown in popularity since the economic squeeze and Mrs Forbes said the Woodbridge shop was always full of people looking to “bag a bargain”.