THE Mayor of Worcester was among 30 people who got to see behind the scenes at a city charity shop.

Oxfam in Mealcheapen Street invited members of the public to an open day where they could find out more about how it goes about its work.

Staff and volunteers gave visitors a tour of the shop and showed them how donations are processed. Mayor Coun David Tibbutt got in on the action himself by steaming garments. There was also a presentation made to 92-year-old Sheila Rowlands, who volunteered for the charity for 25 years before deciding to take a well-earned rest last year.

Shop manager Julie Skipp said: “It was a really good day. The mayor stayed for about two hours – we even had him steaming the clothes. We had some really good comments and we have had so many donations it’s unbelieveable.”

And the team at Oxfam have been invited by Coun Tibbutt for a tour at the Guildhall later this month.

He said: “We had a look behind-the-scenes to see how they processed all the donations and it’s really quite impressive.

“They’re really very careful with how they sort all the items and quite a lot of the stuff is brand new.

“They obviously have a very good team working together there.”