Piles of bin bags dumped around clothes donation bins at B&M car park in Brownhills

Piles of bin bags have been left around clothes donation bins at a B&M store in the Black Country, amid growing concerns over overflowing recycling points across the West Midlands.

The bags have been piled up around clothing banks in the car park of the B&M Home Store with Garden Centre on Ferrie Grove in Brownhills, Walsall.

The unsightly scene is the latest example of clothes donation points being overwhelmed by unwanted items, with similar problems recently reported elsewhere in the region.

Earlier this month, piles of clothing and textiles were spotted strewn across the ground around two donation bins off Tettenhall Road in Wolverhampton, near the Newbridge Stonehouse pub.

Black bin bags had also been left in front of and alongside the bins, despite signs warning that fly-tipping is a criminal offence.

The bins in Tettenhall are operated by RR Community, which said increased demand for recycling facilities had contributed to the problem.

A spokesperson for the organisation said the school holidays had led to a surge in donations, with the location becoming increasingly popular among residents.

The organisation said it had attempted to tackle the problem by increasing the frequency of collections but admitted that keeping up with demand was proving challenging.

It also announced plans to install two additional donation bins at the Tettenhall site as a longer-term solution.

Residents were also encouraged to donate unwanted clothing to charity shops or use household waste and recycling centres.

The latest scenes in Brownhills raise further questions about the management of clothing donation points and whether collection arrangements are keeping pace with demand.

Clothing banks are designed to allow residents to donate unwanted clothes, shoes and textiles for reuse or recycling, helping to prevent items from ending up in landfill.