A district councillor said East Devon residents should be ‘truly proud’ of helping fund vital emotional and practical services for the vulnerable and needy, such as nourishing meals for the homeless and care for older people.

East Devon recyclers made a difference for the homeless this Christmas by donating 250 tonnes of textiles to charity.

Clothing donations from local residents have flooded into the Salvation Army – weighing the equivalent of 30 elephants.

The huge haul was intended to help homeless and vulnerable people over the festive period.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) reported that, over the past 12 months, households had recycled clothes, shoes and textiles via green recycling boxes, collected from the kerbside.

The total also includes the textiles collected from the 10 Salvation Army clothing banks installed on sites across the district.

All donations are then taken by the Salvation Army Trading Company Limited (SATCoL), which reuses and recycles them to raise charitable funds.

SATCoL’s reuse and recycling initiatives include more than 200 charity shops, 6,500 clothing banks and a door-to-door collection service which raises millions of pounds a year for the Salvation Army, contributing to its valuable social welfare work.

Louise Blank, a South West Salvation Army team member, thanked the people who have donated textiles over the past 12 months.

She said: “These donations will help to raise funds to support the vital work of The Salvation Army who help vulnerable and disadvantaged people, including those experiencing homelessness this winter.”

District councillor Tom Wright praised the organisation’s work with the vulnerable and needy, which includes emotional and practical support.

He said: “The Salvation Army carries out some amazing work.

“Our residents are helping them fund these vital services by donating their textiles for weekly collections from their kerbside. For that, they can be truly proud.”

The charity’s reuse and recycling operation helps to fund homelessness and addiction services, care for older people and help at emergency incidents.

Some of its other work includes supporting adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales and providing a family tracing service.

The Salvation Army provides around three million nourishing meals at community, drop-in and residential centres for older people, young families and people experiencing homelessness and more than 3,200 beds a night for vulnerable people.