BOLTON'S Ye Olde Pastie Shoppe is quite a "spectacle" in the town centre . . .

And to reinforce the point customers are continually dropping off unwanted glasses at the shop - in the aid of an old charity appeal.

But although the appeal is now over the business is still being inundated with thousands of unwanted spectacles.

Well-intentioned donations of used glasses are now piling up in the Churchgate building as shop owner, Marie Walsh, puzzles over how she can get rid of them.

The mountain of specs have accumulated in just 12 months and are the result of a successful campaign spanning 10 years by kind-hearted pastie shop customers.

The shop originally put out a decorated box urging Bolton folk to donate their used glasses in 1989 - giving the specs to Vision Aid Overseas.

Contributions came flooding in from all over - even Oxfam shops donated their unwanted glasses to Marie to pass on.

But when Vision Aid Overseas stopped their campaign the glasses still kept on coming.

Marie explained: "We must have 3,000 old glasses up here. We want them to go to a good cause - we don't just want to throw them away.

"We had one man come up from London and take away 770 pairs and we donated 1,500 pairs to Granada Television.

"But they're not doing it anymore either. What charity is going to take away so many pairs?"

If anyone can suggest an ideal solution to re-use the spectacles they are asked to contact Marie Walsh on Bolton 524834.

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