A Kenilworth charity shop has celebrated its first anniversary by surpassing its fundraising total "by a long way".

Pre-loved Emporium, in Millar Court, first opened on December 5 2020, bucking the trend of usual charity shops by stocking high-end fashion.

Now a year in owners Melissa Humphreys and Katie Best say they are delighted they took the step to open their own shop in aid of the Samaritans.

"It is something that we have created together and we are constantly getting great feedback," said Melissa.

"That and making so much money for the charity, it is such a great feeling to look back on the last year."

Having opened in December 2020 the shop soon had to close for three months due to the winter lockdown.

During that period the ladies decided to open a click and collect service through their social media accounts which they said doubled their sales.

Katie said: "We were coming in and taking hundreds of photos, and putting them online for the click and collect.

"People loved it because they were getting some interaction with other people – and that is how we have built our customer base."

After reopening on April 20 many of those customers have become regular shoppers as well as sources of donations.

In fact the Pre-loved Emporium has not had a shortage of stock at any point since opening.

"We haven't had any problems whatsoever with stock," added Melissa.

"We have even had to take items out of the shop which we donate to homeless charities so nothing goes to waste."

And reflecting back on the last year Katie said she was proud of what they had achieved together.

"It has gone fast, we have been so busy and we feel like we have accomplished so much.

"The only thing we would do differently is have a bigger store room!"

Both were also quick to thank their customers and the support of the local community.

Melissa said: "We would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far, by shopping, giving donations or leaving beautiful reviews online.

"It is nice to get that feedback and it has been lovely to hear the kind words of other people.

"We are still so happy to be here, we want to keep going and keep raising so much money for such an important charity."