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Sheffield charity shop manager who received vile ‘hope you didn’t fail’ letter speaks out

The manager of a Sheffield charity shop has spoken out after receiving a vile ‘hope you haven’t failed’ letter from the ‘neighbourhood watch’.

Following the outrage on social media, the letter actually helped boost the store’s trade. The nasty note written to Kreate, a homewares store that provides work experience for adults with learning disabilities, said it was “not welcome” and would likely “fail”.




When manager Ruth Denton shared the handwritten message on Facebook, hundreds of well-wishers expressed their support for the store. And now he says they’ve had people from as far away as America making plans to visit – while adding the letter has helped put the shop “on the map”.

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Ruth, 37, said: “The response we have had has been unbelievable. It was really reassuring because you know that what you’re doing is right and people don’t think that about you.

Kreate manager Ruth Denton, 37, received a letter calling for the charity shop to close(Image: SWNS)

“It just helped support the charity no end. It really put us on the map, so that’s great… Whether we like them or not, they’ve done us a huge favor.” Ruth said the letter arrived at the shop in the post on Saturday morning (May 4) and she had decided to open it because of the “intriguing” writing.


But when she read the poorly worded note – written in pencil on a single sheet of lined A4 paper – she was stunned by the lines of mean-spirited comments. The letter read: “To the Landlord, just a note from the neighborhood watch not to welcome you. On the contrary, we try not to encourage local charity shops or shops selling Blackpool-style trinkets.

Ruth holds the letter that caused the fury(Image: SWNS)

“Lots of businesses needed by communities (sic) have failed and I hope yours have too. Another trendy Tak painted in grey. Coming soon, countdown (sic) for you. The shutters will be permanently down. Resident Unite (Bocking Lane).”

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