Traders in Whitstable are waging war on the town’s charity shops.

They are angry about what they say is unfair competition because of cheaper rates and staffing costs.

Several have now joined together to challenge the charities who sell new goods, often from the same suppliers as traditional traders, at a cheaper price.

Roy Reading, who runs Copperfields in Oxford Street, said the situation was in danger of killing the town centre.

“No one minds competition on a level playing field but this is not fair,” he said.

“They sell the same as we do but the reps say they buy it at a discount, then they have cheaper overheads on top.”

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Brian Hitcham, from Oxford Street Books, said the situation also had an impact on rents across the town.

“Vacant shops don’t stay vacant for long because charity shops can afford to pay a rent that traditional traders can’t because their other overheads are lower,” he said.

“Once the charity shops start to take over, fewer people start coming because there is nothing to attract them here.”

Chamber of commerce president Mark Woollard said there needed to be a balance.

“As a town, we need to be careful that we are not overrun with charity shops,” he “They do support the town by providing a valuable service for people on lower incomes, and by recycling goods, but it is different when they start buying commercial goods from the same suppliers as traders.”

Ted Gladdish, chief executive of Demelza Hospice Care for Children, said he was sad to hear about traders’ concerns.

He denied that charities used their rate concessions to enable them to pay higher rents.

“Generally, all charity shops sell some non-donated items, such as Christmas cards, calendars and small gifts,” he said.

“As for profits made by the trading arm of Demelza, the last financial year produced just under £400,000, which is donated directly to the charity and is used to deliver better care to very sick children and their families.

“Demelza, like many other charity shops, relies on the tremendous efforts of unpaid volunteers and that allows them to keep their margins very competitive.”