BRITISH Heart Foundation is reopening its two Crewe shops and appealing for support as the lockdown has 'devastated' the charity's income.

The two outlets, a BHF Furniture & Electrical store and a shop, both in the Victoria Centre, have been closed since the lockdown was imposed in March. While other non-essential retail outlets reopened last month the charity chose to stay shut because many of its staff and volunteers were shielding.

It has opened around 400 shops this week and nearly 300 more, including the two in Crewe, will follow next week.

The phased recovery has been planned to ensure a safe working environment for staff and 17,000 volunteers with a trial of over 40 shops proving so successful that it accelerated reopening plans.

BHF is urging the public for support by donating good quality items, or by popping in to snap up a bargain. It says every item donated or sold will aid in the recovery from a crisis, which is predicted will half the charity's net income this year.

Mike Taylor, BHF's commercial director, said: "Our charity shops run purely on the support of the public, which is why we treasure every person who shops with us or supports us. Every item we sell helps fund our vital research.

"We have been truly humbled by the response from our colleagues, customers and supporters since opening a handful of shops at the beginning of the month.

"One store received more than 100 bags of donations before lunchtime on the day it opened. We're now ready to open our shops nationwide with confidence that they're safe and ready to raise vital funds for research into heart and circulatory diseases once more.

"The coronavirus crisis has had a devastating impact on our income meaning we are in urgent need of public support and donations to continue our research."

BHF says the temporary closure of its 750 shops has had a 'devastating impact on income' - costing around £10 million a month. But that has coincided with a significant increase in demand for services with calls to its Heart Helpline increasing by 400 per cent at the peak of the pandemic as it became clear that people with heart and circulatory diseases were at increased risk.

BHF's Chief Executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths said: "Our shops fund a huge proportion of UK cardiovascular research, so the reopening of doors is welcomed news for thousands of scientists and millions of people with heart and circulatory diseases, as well as our shoppers.

"But the coronavirus crisis will unfortunately have a long-lasting and devastating impact on charities like ours, with our funding for new research falling by a shocking £50m this year alone.

"That's why, not only do we need urgent help from our loyal supporters, we're also urging the government to ensure funding for vital research charities."

Safety precautions will be in place, including social distancing on the shop floor, protective equipment for staff and volunteers and contact free collection and processing of donated items.

For large donations donors will be able to book a free collection service online from next Wednesday and all pick-ups will be contact-free.

The Crewe Furniture & Electrical store is selling a wide variety of pre-loved furniture and home appliances from sofas, tables, beds and wardrobes to TVs, washing machines, fridges and dishwashers.

All stock is rested for 72 hours and sanitised before heading onto the sales floor.

But BHF is unable to recruit new volunteers just now.