We have hot news just in from abroad. Well from Red Deer, Alberta to be precise - the great charity junk giveaway is not confined to the fair city of York.

Last week, The Press reported how St Leonard's Hospice charity shops in the city were being deluged with rubbish in the guise of charity donations.

A dead hamster, used condoms, dirty nappies, false teeth, cooked spaghetti and even a hand grenade were among items that had been given to St Leonard's to help keep its good work afloat.

It seems that many people take their tat to car boot sales, and the stuff that is later left unsold, they dump outside the charity shops instead of taking it to the tip.

Well it's not just a tight-fisted Yorkshire Tykes phenomenon. It's happening all over the place.

A York expatriate read the story on The Press's website, www.thisisyork.co.uk, and contacted the Diary about her own experiences in her work for the Salvation Army, in Canada.

Jackie Saunders is constantly amazed at the items handed in at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, in Red Deer, Alberta.

"We have the same problem with the rubbish that is donated," said Jackie's communique.

"The most surprising donation was a pair of live rabbits complete with food. Luckily, the same day, we had received a cage and managed to keep them in there until we found them a home.

"We have had the occasional blow-up doll (both male and female), crack pipes and almost every girlie magazine printed. People get quite angry when you refuse their broken crockery, etc."

She says that on a Saturday, when all the yard sales (the Canadian equivalent of our car boot sales) are finished they used to be inundated with "junk".

"But now we have a sign for the door which reads: 'If you can't sell it for 20 cents, then neither can we'. It makes me realize that this is a worldwide problem and not just a Canadian one."

While we are talking rubbish, with everbody's wheelie bins getting chewed up in York bin wagons these days, the wheelie wonders are becoming a valuable, eminently stealable commodity.

DIY store owner David Fox has come up with a wheelie good idea - bin identification plates so you can stake your claim to your very own refuse holder.

His Homecrafts store in Lawrence Street, York, is doing a roaring trade in plastic numbers or letters to stick on your bin and prevent it being nicked by an envious neighbour who is still on the long waiting list for a replacement.

"People do tend to nick each other's bins, especially if their neighbour's is cleaner than theirs or their own has gone missing," said David.

"They are selling like hot cakes, especially on the internet. We are getting orders from all over the country."

Aha. Another problem, like charity donations, not confined to York.