As many of you will have seen on social media already, we wanted to update our community following a fire at our shop on Flowergate today.

The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault and, although it was dealt with very quickly by the fire service, there has been significant smoke damage throughout the shop.

The most important thing is that no one was hurt, and we are incredibly grateful for the quick response from the fire service and the actions taken at the time

Unfortunately, the impact of the damage means:

• The shop will be closed until further notice

• We are currently unable to accept donations of items for the charity shop. Exception - we have an event coming and the 100s of prizes were stored in the shop. So we are in need of prizes such as toiletries, plushies, new and sealed edibles and drinkables, unwanted gifts etc.

• A large amount of stock has been affected and cannot be sold

• Some items, including electrical goods, must be removed and disposed of for safety reasons

We are now working with our landlord and inspectors and must complete a number of safety checks before we can reopen.

To make things more challenging, there has also been a delay to our planned storage space for the shop and online sales, which means we currently have very limited capacity for sorting and storage while we recover.

As a charity, this is a very difficult time for us. The shop plays a vital role in supporting the wildlife we care for, and being closed means a loss of important income.

How you can help:

• Please share this post

• Consider making a donation: (crowdfunding link)

• Support our online sales where possible (link to group in comments)

Your support truly means everything to us and to the animals we help every day

Thank you for your kindness, patience, and ongoing support — we’ll keep you updated as we work towards reopening.

Whitby Wildlife Charity Shop

46 Flowergate, Whitby