Sir – Can urgent action be taken over dumping outside charity shops at the weekend? Huge mounds of stuff accumulate, much of it in a filthy state, and are picked over by opportunists who remove anything of value and most usable articles as well, and the remaining rubbish is then strewn about.

This is a problem for charity shops in general, but especially those which stand back from the main road and are under less observation.

There appear to be two possible solutions. One would be effective policing, with fines for offenders. The other would be to restore weekly collections to the whole city, so that large households are less tempted to dispose of excessive rubbish in this way.

The problem is in no way the fault of those who work in charity shops, who have to contend with horrible and often offensive piles on Monday mornings, and the charities also have to pay to have this rubbish removed.

Anastasia Heath, Summertown