RESIDENTS in Basingstoke are being urged to donate chocolate eggs and fill a unit the size of a red phone box.

Access Self Storage has launched its annual Easter campaign and it needs help from people in Basingstoke.

There is hope that the appeal this year will see people donate eggs to completely fill the empty 2.5m2 – similar in size to an old-fashioned red phone box - storage unit.

Stuart Hillman, store manager in Basingstoke, said: “Everyone deserves a treat this Easter and we’d love to fill our storage unit with Easter Eggs.  It couldn’t be easier to donate,  eggs can be dropped off at any Access Self Storage store, at any time. 

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"We want to be able to collect as many eggs as possible, and to distribute them to those in need, and helped by our chosen charity this year.”

The Basingstoke store, located at Slington House in Rankine Road, will donate the eggs to the Hampshire Hospitals Charity.

To fill the container, which is approximately 9ft high and 3ft wide, the team will need to collect around 200 boxed supermarket Easter eggs and any extras will spill over into a larger unit.

Thousands of Easter Eggs have been donated by stores local communities and customers since the collections began in 2011, and in 2024 every single one of the 54 Access Self Storage stores will be collecting.   If every store fills its 2.5m2 container that’s 11,800 Easter Eggs that can be collected, all to be distributed across good causes, locally and across the UK. 

Jan Albert Fourie, general manager of operations added: "It’s so important for our store teams to work closely with their local communities and to be able to help those that will really benefit from this collection. 

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"Our aim is to fill our storage units over and over whilst this campaign remains open and if we can collect 12,000 Easter Eggs this year, we know the teams and our charity partners will be so grateful.  If every customer donates just one Easter Egg throughout this campaign we can smash our target and make a huge difference.”

Staff have already begun collecting eggs and donations can be made at the store between Friday, March 1 and Monday, March 25, ahead of the charity collection and distribution in time for Easter.

Since the Access Self Storage Easter Egg Appeal launched in 2011, more than 8000 chocolate eggs have been donated to dozens of charities across the UK.