A POPULAR charity shop is appealing for more volunteers to help them through the busy Christmas season.

Ferne Animal Sanctuary charity shop on Fore Street is looking for keen helpers to work in the ‘sorting’ section of the shop.

Sorting includes checking through donations, labelling, hanging, and putting them into the correct sections.

Clare Shaw, Ferne Animal Sanctuary's Wellington charity shop manager, said: “The volunteers here are absolutely amazing, without them, the shop would not run.

“We can get up to 300 bags of donations a week but I do have a lack of people on the sorting team. It is a very accessible role and we are looking for as many volunteers as we can.”

Volunteers on the sorting team do not have to lift items and can work for as long as they like each week.

The shop currently has 15 volunteers with the majority on tills or selling items on Ebay.

Clare explained that she is particularly looking for volunteers to work on weekends as that is the shop’s busiest days.

Last Saturday (December 6), the shop pulled in £504, £268 on Sunday and £375 on Monday, which is “unheard of”.

Clare, continued: “I can not reiterate enough how important volunteers are, without them the shop would not hit targets or achieve as much as we do.”

The money raised from the Wellington charity shop goes to Fearne Animal Sanctuary which provides refuge and rehabilitation for more than 300 animals.

The non-government funded charity relies solely on fundraising through grants and donations.

Ferne Animal Sanctuary operates six other retail shops in Chard, Crewkerne, Dorchester, Ilminster, Yeovil, and Sidmouth.

To volunteer at Ferne Animal Sanctuary charity shop, visit: www.ferneanimalsanctuary.org/support-us/volunteering-at-ferne

Charity shop volunteers must be 17 years of age and over.