Hundreds of teddy bears that were due to take pride of place in this year's Cowley Road Carnival have been ruined in a flood at a charity shop.

Barnardo's charity shop, in Cowley Road, has been collecting teddy bears for weeks in the hope of displaying 1,000 teddies - marking Oxfordshire's 1,000th anniversary - for a teddy bears' picnic during the carnival on Sunday, July 1.

But after a month's worth of rain fell during the late May Bank Holiday last weekend, water poured through the flat roof above the shop and ruined all 500 teddies that had been collected so far, as well as clothes and other stock.

Shop manager Mandy Burton said: "There was a fault on the flat roof where there was water getting in and unfortunately it came straight through to our store.

"I came past the shop and saw water pouring down the windows and I went in and the ceiling tiles had collapsed on the floor.

"Water was pouring on to the shop floor. It was horrendous to see."

She estimated that damaged stock and loss of takings would cost the charity up to £5,000.

Not all of this would be covered by insurance as much of the stock was donated.

The shop reopened briefly on Thursday, but had to close again after a couple of hours when the roof leaked a second time - ruining more stock.

Mrs Burton said the shop was now desperate for people to donate clothes and teddy bears to help replenish the destroyed goods.

She said: "We would gratefully accept as many new donations of quality clothing that people can give us.

"We lost a lot of teddies and we need a thousand - it's only a month away so we are desperate for teddies as well."

Yesterday there were just a few minor repairs outstanding and Mrs Burton said the charity shop was set to reopen on Saturday - or on Monday at the latest.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, more than 62mm of rain was measured at RAF Benson.

The average rainfall at the base for the entire month of May is just 50mm.

The teddy bears' picnic is one of many events going on during the Cowley Road Carnival and will be held in Dawson Street with money raised by picnic-goers going to Barnardo's.

The theme for this year's Cowley Road Carnival, which is set to feature an impressive parade, will be fire, the abolition of slavery, and Oxfordshire's 1,000th anniversary.