WOMEN are being encouraged to go through their drawers and donate their forgotten bras in the name of charity.

Dunmow’s Oxfam shop has joined a national campaign – the Big Bra Hunt – which aims to raise funds for the charity’s work worldwide.

Since the High Street shop launched its campaign on April 1 – which includes a rather decorative window display – dozens of bras have been donated.

The bras are on sale at the shop, but those which are not snapped up are sent out to Senegal, where they are sorted and then sold in local markets for as little as 6p.

Manager Monique Giral said: “Bras might not seem like the most obvious thing to donate but there is more value in it than people might not expect. One 45kg bag of ordinary clothes is worth about �100; the equivalent bag filled with bras is over �200.

“So we’re asking every woman to search through their drawers for their old, unwanted bras, and donate them.”