A Suffolk charity shop has been turned into a new space to support its online shopping side.

St Elizabeth Hospice on Bramford Road, Ipswich is now operating as an e-commerce hub for the charity.

The hospice's online retail side has been growing in recent years, and in response the charity set up a central location for online retail staff.

The shop, which has been a charity shop since 2015, was chosen as the best location due to its large office space.

The e-commerce hub now hosts staff researching in preparation for listing items on its online shop and on eBay.

Jade Woodrow, retail area manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “As we have seen in recent years, the retail landscape is changing, with growing numbers of people doing their shopping online.

“As a retail team we are always looking at how we can achieve the best value from items kindly donated by our supporters and expanding our online platforms is an effective way of doing this.

"The creation of our new e-commerce hub means we are also able to meet customers’ changing shopping habits, enabling our sales in this market to grow and provide a sustainable income for hospice services into the future.

“We have been pleased with how the new e-commerce hub has taken shape and are extremely grateful to all the staff and volunteers who have made this transition possible.”

The charity also plans on opening a new coffee shop in Ipswich town hall this year.

The plans were announced following the success of the St Elizabeth Hospice Moments Coffee Shop in Stowmarket and at Heath Road in Ipswich.

St Elizabeth Hospice cares for patients living with progressive and life-limiting illnesses, and their families, in Suffolk and Norfolk.