A HAMPSHIRE branch of the UK’s largest dog welfare charity has reopened six of its charity shops across the UK.

On June 29, Dog's Trust reopened six of its charity shops including its donation centre in Portchester.

With Government measures easing and more high street shops opening, the charity is excited to open a small number of its stores, whilst following the latest guidelines to keep staff and supporters safe.

Each charity shop will operate under reduced trading hours and will have dedicated time slots for when pre-loved goods can be received.

This is to make sure that all pre-loved goods can be quarantined for 72 hours before being resold to reduce any risk of infection.

In the last couple of weeks, staff have been preparing shops by adjusting their layout to meet social distancing requirements, installing more hand sanitizing units and fitting ‘cough guards’ at till points.

Staff have also been provided with gloves, face masks and aprons which they are being asked to wear throughout the day.

The shop teams won’t be able to collect pre-loved goods from supporters’ homes as they are operating with reduced staff; and temporarily there are some limitations on the size and type of pre-loved goods they take; currently they are unable to take larger items such as furniture as well as books, soft toys and children’s games.