BARNARDO'S charity shops around the region are appealing for people to donate books.

The charity, which has nearly 20 North-East shops, is facing a book drought after readers cleared its shelves.

David Abdale, North-East retail manager at Barnardo's, said: "We have noticed a big increase in book sales since December and customers seem to be requesting those titles which made the top 20 of the BBC list. There also seems to be a lot of interest from book club members."

Demand for certain books has become so high that Barnardo's shop managers often have up to ten customers awaiting certain titles should one become available.

Mr Abdale said: "We are really pleased so many people are using Barnardo's to buy books and it's great we can provide a way for people to access great literature.

"However, we have almost become a victim of our own success and are now running low on supplies. We would urge our customers to donate their read books back to their local shop to supply this demand."

The charity has shops in Blaydon, Blyth, Consett, Hartlepool, Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Jarrow, Morpeth, Seaham, Stanley, Peterlee, Wallsend and Whitley Bay, and two in Newcastle and Sunderland.