IT TOOK a lot of bottle for these two York women to collect thousands of milk container tops for charity, but now the pair have now found themselves with more than a pint-sized problem.

Dorothy Savage and Sheila Markwick have 26 bin liners full of carefully sorted, but unwanted, bottle tops, because the charity they collected them for has stopped accepting them.

The pair gathered thousands of tops over the years. These were recycled and the proceeds used to provide equipment for the Alzheimer’s Society The women say their efforts have provided two wheelchairs for the Scarborough branch of the organisation.

However, following a change of manager at the branch, and a number of internet scams involving similar collections, the society stopped accepting the donations.

Mrs Markwick, of Acomb, said: “Dorothy and I set ourselves up as a collection point for the milk bottle tops. But we no longer require them so we want to find someone who will take them.”

The two friends became famous locally for collecting the tops and neighbours would leave carrier bags full of them on their doorsteps. However, Mrs Markwick now has 20 bin liners full of tops and has been forced to store them in her home.

The 62-year-old said: “I have them in an old bath at the moment and they are all sorted out. It took us ages to get the wrong type of bottle tops out.

“Hopefully after all this collecting we will get someone who can use them for a good cause.

“I would say I have about a thousand tops in my house at the moment.

“I would come home and about once a week I would find bags of them hung on my door handle. It was amazing how many people would appear with them.”

If you can help to rid the friends of their unwanted bottle tops, phone Sheila Markwick on 01904 331009.