Charity's Chelmsley store turns 35

CHILDREN’S charity Barnardo’s has celebrated 35 years in Chelmsley Wood.
The branch in the town centre first opened its doors in the early 1980s - an era when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, Blackadder had just made its TV debut and wearing a seat belt had finally become compulsory.
Since then the shop, which is the charity's oldest in the West Midlands region, has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to support vulnerable children and young people.
In the past 12 months alone, more than 7,700 bags of donations were received from supporters.
Yesterday (Tuesday) staff and volunteers from the charity cut a specially-made cake to celebrate the anniversary.
Barnardo’s manager Robyn Phillips said: "We have a fantastic team aged from 20-years-old up to 74-years-old, and the longest-serving supporter has been with us for an astonishing 30 years!
"We’ve received all sorts of items ranging from tins of dog food and a used toothbrush to Tiffany bracelets worth several hundred pounds.
"People offer whatever they can to help us and we wouldn’t be able to operate without their support."
The Barnardo’s store is open Monday-Saturday from 9am-5pm and on Sundays from 10am-4pm.