GENEROUS customers from a family-owned department store have offered bags of support to people affected by cancer.

Barkers store in Northallerton invited customers to donate good condition, barely-used handbags to the store in return for a ten per cent discount voucher to use towards a new one from the store.

A total of 66 bags, collected by Barkers during the Handbags and Teabags Campaign in May have now been given to Northallerton’s two Cancer Research shops, where they are on sale to raise money for the charity.

On the final day of the month-long Handbags and Teabags Campaign, the department store hosted a tea party in aid of Cancer Research UK. The sale of handbags and drinks raised a total of £900 for the charity.

Accessories buyer Kate McCain said: “Our customers are both very generous and supportive of any fundraising organised by Barkers, so it came as no surprise when we received so much support for our Handbags and Teabags campaign. We thought that inviting customers to donate their quality handbags was a great way to recycle the bags and raise vital funds for a great charity.”

Jayne Lister, from the Cancer Research shop, said: “We are always very short of good quality handbags as they are popular items among customers.

“This was a wonderful gesture by Barkers and their customers, and we expect to raise a lot of money from the sale of these handbags, which are already flying off the shelves.”