Volunteers were angry to learn an abandoned charity shop was still packed with donations, despite claims it had been cleared.

New pictures revealed the extent of the stock left inside the Save the Children store in Union Street, Maidstone, despite bosses saying “all sellable donations” had already been transferred to other stores to help generate vital funds.

The charity, which has not operated the shop for four years, has since admitted it is still working to clear it, with work taking place this week.

In September, the charity announced the building would be going up for auction with agent Savills after residents shared their outrage that the shop had been left empty with donations inside collecting dust.

The article prompted a flurry of activity, with the shop windows being blacked out and the removal of Save the Children’s modern branding to reveal an old sign - which led people to believe the stock had been transferred to other stores as the charity had stated.

But, behind the blacked-out shop window, new images reveal the store remains full with piles of donations, chairs, Easter decorations, plastic boxes, and a plastic Christmas tree.

One volunteer, Anne, who did not wish to share her last name, spent 12 years serving the store.

Upon seeing the photos, she said: “There is plenty of stuff that we would have sold.

“It looks like the charity is ditching the whole lot and leaving it for someone else to clear.

“There are lots of plastic boxes which would be very valuable to other charity shops – we would certainly have taken those.”

The Maidstone resident believes Save the Children had moved some things around inside but added “it is in a far worse state then we left it”.

Meanwhile, Ania Kasprzak, who started volunteering at the store in 2017 until it closed at the start of the pandemic, said she was “angry and frustrated” at how the charity had dealt with its Union Street store.

Learning that the shop is still packed with donations, she said: “This is ridiculous – I am so disappointed with the charity.

“The volunteering there saved my life and it’s such a pity they let the shop go.”

In addition, Ania says she did not get a thank you for her three years’ service.

The 57-year-old, who moved to the UK from Poland 20 years ago, had joined the charity shop after the death of her mother and said the support from volunteers at the shop “rescued” her.

In 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she said the support of her colleagues helped get her through it.

She described the closure of the store as “heart-breaking”.

Now Ania, who lives in Maidstone, thinks the stock should be transferred to one of the many other charity shops in the town and says the charity “doesn’t need to travel far”.

“It’s such a waste and it makes me angry and frustrated because it’s not the way it should be,” she added.

This feeling is echoed by long-serving volunteer Rosemary Williams, who was with the charity shop for around eight years.

The former teacher says she sent countless emails to the store to find out when it would be reopening after the pandemic – but she never got a response.

The 69-year-old said: “We were totally blanked – I was one of many volunteers who contacted the charity to find out when it would open but I have never had anything explaining why the shop had closed.”

Rosemary says that although many volunteers spent years contacting Save the Children for an update, it was only after KentOnline published the story that the charity made a plan to sell the store.

“How long were they going to leave the store to rot? It’s been two-and-half years since it could have reopened,” she added.

Rosemary disputes any explanations regarding lack of volunteers or profitability and said the store had received a letter from the charity the year before the pandemic, congratulating staff for raising £40,000 in funds that year.

“There’s been two-and-a-half years of total inaction and no communication – but we loved that shop that we worked in.”

Save the Children has been in Union Street, Maidstone, since the 1980s when the building was bought for £12,000.

Kate Bishop, director of retail brand and strategy at Save the Children, said: “We will sell the unit with ‘vacant possession’ to any purchaser so we will not be leaving anything in the shop.

“Our contractors have been working there this week and can confirm that any remaining fixtures will be rehomed or recycled, and all waste disposed. All personal information and gift aid data has been stored securely in line with GDPR guidelines and will not be on site before, during or after the sale of the premises.”

Responding to the volunteers’ comments about the shop’s profitability she added: “Our Maidstone shop did generate an income of £40K in 2019 however after the pandemic there were many factors which changed making it difficult to trade reliably – including some volunteers stepping back.

“After reviewing our estate carefully and weighing up the long-term opportunity to raise money for children, versus the risks of trading in a post-pandemic era, a decision was made to shut the store.

“When this decision was made in 2023, a decision which was not made lightly, all volunteers were sent individual letters thanking them for their contributions and long-standing service - something we have always valued.”