One well-meaning individual oddly donated a video tape of Princess Diana's funeral to an animal welfare charity. 

The Scottish SPCA is now appealing to the public to only donate suitable items.

They also said that underwear, odd shoes, curtains, crates of fake flowers, and 250 raw sausages and 200 Brussel sprouts were among the stranger things they've received.

Open food bags containing maggots and cigarette ends were also received by the Ayrshire branch of the SSPCA.

The charity say that they don't want to seem ungrateful but the amount of time and money it costs to sort through and bin unsuitable donations is proving quite taxing.

And they say that people might not be aware that some items are not suitable for the animals in their care. These include things like duvets and pillows, which are too easy for animals to tear and potnetially ingest or become tangled in.

Lynda Hourston, assistant manager of the Ayrshire Animal Rescue and Rehoming centre, said: “We are always so grateful for donations people gift us and we wouldn’t want anyone to think we are ungrateful.

“While we do get lots of funny donations that have clearly been given to us with the best of intentions we have also received some items that pose a serious health hazard.

“Our centres have received open bags of food containing maggots and cigarette ends, which is why we can’t accept any food that is already open.

“We’ve also received cat litter trays full of faeces and pet beds covered in pet hair. We’ve received broken toys, human clothes, rawhide treats and extendable leads. None of which we can use.

“People often donate duvets and pillows not realising that we can’t use them as bedding as they’re too easy for animals to rip up and possibly harm themselves by ingesting or becoming tangled in them.

“We want to spend all of our spare time providing the animals in our centre with the best possible care and it can be very time consuming having to sort out unsuitable donations and make sure items are recycled where possible.

"Unfortunately, it does also have a financial impact in terms of staff time and a lot has to go in general waste bins which are emptied weekly, which we pay for.

“We are also trying to reduce the amount of waste our centres produce as part of our environmental ambitions and incorrect donations have a huge impact on our carbon footprint.

“We don’t want to put anyone off donating to our centres but we would just ask that they take a quick look at our website beforehand to check which items we can and can’t accept.

“If the item they want to donate is not on the list, or is large or something unusual we’d ask them just to give their nearest centre a call first to make sure they can accept it.

“We are so grateful, especially in these difficult times, that people think of us and want to help.”

Anyone wishing to donate items to one of the Scottish SPCA’s animal rescue and rehoming centres can check which items they can accept here: https://bit.ly/3njVhLp or call 03000 999 999 to speak to their local centre.