THE Air Ambulance charity shop in Shipston is appealing for people to hand in their unwanted handbags and help it fundraise this spring.

The Charity is aiming to receive enough donations between April 21 and May 3 to be able to completely fill their state of the art Agusta 109 helicopter with handbags.

Shipston's High Street store is looking for handbags of all styles, shapes and sizes including shoulder bags, clutches and satchels.

Hannah Coventry, Seinior Retail Area Manager, said: “During April 2013 our charity boutiques across the country sold nearly 2,000 ladies handbags. That’s more than 60 a day.

"The sale of handbags alone last April helped us to raise over £7,400, enough to help cover the cost of four lifesaving rescue missions.”

On average, the Air Ambulance pilots, paramedics and doctors attend thee rescue missions every day, costing about £1,700 per mission.

Claire Young , Air Ambulance supporter and former star of The Apprentice, added: “If my unwanted items can make a small difference to someone’s life that’s fantastic.

"To help as much as I can I’ll be asking all of my family and friends to hand in their handbags too.”

All suitable donations will be accepted in store Monday to Saturday from 9am and 5pm.