Ed Sheeran clothing helps to make the opening of Fakenham’s EACH charity store a big success

At the official opening of the EACH charity shop in Fakenham are (from left) Dianne Rowe, The Countess of Leicester and Sam Lucking. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant 2017)

The new East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) charity shop on Upper Market Street was opened by EACH Patron, The Countess of Leicester at 10am.

On offer in the store was ten items of clothing donated by Ed Sheeran, who has been a major supporter of the charity since 2014 when he was made an EACH Ambassador.

Sarah Throssell, EACH retail area manager, said: 'We are delighted to see so many people from the Fakenham community coming out to support us today. Ed Sheeran clothing is always popular and today some lucky shoppers managed to buy a piece of celebrity memorabilia.

'We had an amazing first two hours, taking almost £2,000 and the Ed clothing has definitely helped.'

Queues of people headed to the opening of a new charity store in Fakenham which was offering items of clothing donated by Ed Sheeran. Picture: East Anglias Childrens Hospices (Image: Archant)

The new shop includes a book room on the first floor, overlooking the market place, and a kids' zone with activities for children.

Ms Throssell added: 'It is fantastic to be here in Fakenham and we are grateful to everyone who has dropped off donations over the past few weeks.

'I am also pleased that some volunteers have come forward to offer their help. We try to keep paid staff to a minimum so we can maximise the profits to fund our specialist palliative care. If anyone else is interested in helping and joining our Manager, Laura and the team, please do pop in.'

The charity is looking for volunteers who can donate some time to working in the shop and is also calling on the community to donate good quality item that can be sold.

Queues of people headed to the opening of a new charity store in Fakenham which was offering items of clothing donated by Ed Sheeran. Picture: East Anglias Childrens Hospices (Image: Archant)

These can be items such as, clothing, bric-a-brac, modern paperbacks, toys, jewellery, DVDs and CDs, household linens, retro and vintage clothes, and small electrical items.

The Fakenham store is the ninth EACH shop. In the past financial year their stores have generated a profit of more than £700,000, which all goes towards helping local families.

If you would be interested in more information on volunteering at the new shop email or call 01223 205183. More information about EACH is available on their website.