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Strange Christmas charity shop donations are shocking fillers

Barnardos False teethBarnardos
The bite before Christmas: A set of false teeth was found inside a handbag donated to a charity store in Glasgow

False teeth, a scorpion in formaldehyde and a lamb castrating tool were among the strangest items dropped in a charity's donation boxes this year.

Barnardo's revealed a list of bizarre items left by donors at some of its 620 UK stores in an appeal for people to bestow their unwanted Christmas gifts.

A pizza slice and a baby's umbilical cord also feature on the list.

Shops in Kent, Suffolk, Yorkshire, Wales and Scotland were among those receiving the peculiar items.

Barnardos Farmer's lamb castrating tool in a plastic bagBarnardos
Docking filler: This farmer's lamb castrating tool was donated in Kendal, Cumbria

Jaws dropped when staff in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were given a pot containing nine human molars and a bag of infant clothes containing a baby's dried umbilical cord and belly clip. While volunteers in Catterick, North Yorkshire, were surprised by the discovery of a slice of pizza inside a man's coat.

A set of false teeth was also found inside a handbag donated to the charity's Glasgow store.

The bottled scorpion has since been given to a local university in Scotland after shop workers in St Andrews were given the preserved arachnid.

Barnardos Used toilet brushBarnardos
All I Want for Christmas, is... : Staff at a Welsh branch were thrilled to add a used toilet brush to their yule log of kind donations

Bizarre donations

  • Baby's dried umbilical cord and belly clip - Rotherham, South Yorkshire
  • Bag of moss - Worksop, Nottinghamshire
  • "Bottom-wiping tool" - Gravesend, Kent
  • False teeth - Glasgow
  • Farmer's lamb castrating tool - Kendal, Cumbria
  • Human molars - Rotherham, South Yorkshire
  • Scorpion preserved in a jar of formaldehyde - St Andrews, Scotland
  • Several ends of carrots - Wolverhampton, West Midlands
  • Slice of pizza - Catterick, North Yorkshire
  • Urine bottle - Lincoln
  • Used toilet brush - Conwy, Wales
  • Viagra tablets - Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Barnardos Carrots on a kitchen tissue paperBarnardos
Not too ap-peeling: The generosity of some donors knows no bounds, as demonstrated by this clutch of carrot ends handed to staff in Wolverhampton

A London store was given a set of four portraits of historical figures in matching frames - depicting Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, Vlad the Impaler - otherwise known as Dracula - and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Staff in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, were amused by a message accompanying a pair of men's shorts, which read: "Wear these at your leisure, wear with pride and pleasure, and keep them safe to treasure. Geoff. X."

Is not the first time Barnardo's has been handed unusual cast-offs.

Previous quirky deliveries have included a dead bird in Glasgow and a hamster cage still containing its deceased former occupant in Warrington, Cheshire.

Roy Clark, managing director of Barnardo's Trading Companies, said: "Most of us have received Christmas presents that may be of good quality and cost a fair bit - but are just not suitable for ourselves."

Barnardos Pizza sliceBarnardos
Duff crust: A slice of pizza was found inside a man's coat
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