False teeth and a slice of pizza: Charity shop reveals strangest donations of 2021

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A scorpion, false teeth and a slice of pizza are among the strangest things charity shop chain, Barnardo’s, has received in its stores in 2021.

Barnardo’s, which has 620 stores across the UK, revealed the list as part of its Christmas donations appeal.

The scorpion was preserved in a jar of formaldehyde and was donated to an outpost in St Andrews. It was later given to the local university.

In Glasgow, a handbag was donated with a set of false teeth inside, while staff in Catterick, North Yorkshire, were delighted to receive a man’s coat until they discovered a slice of pizza inside.

A store in Pitlochry, Perthshire received a tin of crab meat with a best before date of 2015, while a London store received a set of four portraits of historical figures in matching frames — including fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula, and former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Shopworkers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, had an unwelcome surprise after being given a pot containing nine human molars and a bag of infant’s clothes containing a baby’s dried umbilical cord and belly clip.

Other bizarre body-related donations included a pelvic floor exerciser in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, a used pregnancy test kit in Glasgow, a packet of Viagra tablets in Rotherham, a "bottom-wiping tool" in Gravesend, Kent, a urethral catheter and urine bottle in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, a haemorrhoid cushion in Wolverhampton and even a used toilet brush in Colwyn Bay in Conwy, Wales.

The list aims to encourage people to give their unwanted Christmas gifts to their local Barnardo’s branch, where profits go towards helping vulnerable children and young people.

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.

“So instead of putting them at the back of the drawer and forgetting about them, why not donate to your local Barnardo’s store?”

Additional reporting by PA.