Rotten eggs put in appeal collection bin

The eggs were broken and had dripped over some of the donation bags already in the bin before being found on Thursday morning.

None of the items in the bags were damaged, but appeal founder Lilita Kruze said she was disgusted and saddened by what had occurred.

‘This is the first time something as bad as this has happened, I honestly can’t believe someone would even think to do this.’

She said that she would be checking with Waitrose to see if any CCTV cameras may have picked up the incident, and reminded those wishing to donate items to put them in a plastic bag and to tie it tightly.

‘This can’t have been an accident, someone will have done this on purpose, it seems very deliberate.’

She also thanked appeal volunteer Barbara Roussel, who discovered the incident and cleaned it up with assistance from her grandson, Waitrose staff and a representative from the Royal British Legion.

Mrs Roussel, who has been involved with the appeal since it began in 2022, called the act ‘despicable.’

‘It’s beyond belief, the smell was so pungent and the bin was at least three-quarters full, so it could have damaged a lot of items,’ she said.

‘One bag did actually have holes in it but in it there were separate bags containing the items so fortunately they were protected.’

She said it took her group 10 to 15 minutes to clear the bin up, adding that she too thought the incident was deliberate.

‘The bin is clearly postered informing people that it is for the appeal, it’s obvious,’ she said.

‘The thing that upsets me most is the thought of how these generous donations for mothers and babies in a war-torn country could so easily have been ruined.’

More than 37,000 items have been donated to the appeal since Ms Kruze launched it following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.