THE British Heart Foundation’s Bag it. Beat it. campaign was launched at the Clifton Moor Retail park.

The registered charity has more than 700 shops across the United Kingdom selling a staggering 90,000 items every day and at the York shop on Goodramgate people can join the appeal and donate bags of clothes, shoes, toys, books, CDs, DVDs and bric-a-brac to help fund life-saving heart research.

The BHF currently funds more than £14 million into congenital heart disease research and it is hoped that this initiative will raise even more.

BHF Area Manager Louise Ball said: “Have a clear out this September and donate bags of unwanted items to Bag it. Beat it. Your unwanted items will help little heroes continue to fight congenital heart disease.”

Congenital heart disease is a term for a range of birth defects affecting the heart. It affects up to nine in every thousand babies born in the UK. For more information visit: bagit.bhf.org.uk