WHENEVER I spot a charity shop I am inexorably drawn into it... once a bargain hunter, always a bargain hunter and it has been that way ever since my mum took me to my first auction at the tender age of eight.

Sadly, charity shops are not what they used to be in terms of bargains. You very seldom find one for the simple reason that the charities have become increasingly savvy when it comes to the true worth of the items they sell.

Any hope of finding that first press of Please Please Me by The Beatles for a couple of quid is now sadly but a pipe dream.

When charity shops first appeared on our high streets in the early Eighties many people avoided them like the plague for one simple reason... namely that they were embarrassed at the prospect of being spotted by one of their well to do neighbours.

Gradually, though, people, and especially students, realised that within lurked plenty of bargains. Why pay £50 for a coat to keep you warm when you could nab a perfectly serviceable one for a fiver?

I have procured several absolute bargains over the years and try to pop into at least two or three charity shops over the course of a weekend.

Perhaps my best buy was a classic Levi denim jacket bought about ten years ago. It was a brand spanking new limited edition one with red buttons which I paid a mere ten quid for even though at the time it was still being sold in Levi stores for £120. I still have it to this day.

It was the same with CDs. As their popularity declined in recent years you could pick them up for 50p or a pound a pop.

I have an extensive collection of CDs by the likes of The Beatles, The Doors, Dylan and the Stones, most of them picked up quite literally for a song.

Then of course there are boot sales, of which I have been a devotee for many years. Their main appeal is that you never have a clue what you are going to find.

It all started when I started collecting vinyl records again six years ago.

Record collectors will know that 180 gram vinyl represses do not come cheap and for those on limited budgets this can prove extremely frustrating.

When it comes to boot sales, however, the chance to add to your collection cheaply is virtually endless, provided you commit to getting out of bed at the crack of dawn and be prepared to battle it out with other equally determined collecters intent on finding that elusive gem.

When I lived in Essex, there were five boot sales within a six-mile radius.

Every Sunday I would get up at 5am and embark on a pre-planned route, each time with £50 in my wallet.

I secured some incredible bargains including, most memorably, a first press of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.

That purchase proves that perseverance pays off. A seller had dumped about 100 LPs on the grass and I could see at first glance that it was an array of usual suspects such as James Last, Val Doonican, Nana Mouskouri and other easy listening favourites.

“Nothing here,” I thought to myself, but something made me start looking in more detail. Then Eureka, there it was... that famous prism on the black background.

Trying to stay calm I inquired how much the record were. “Ten for a £1 mate,” came the swift response.

I scooped up nine records and secreted the Floyd one in the middle of the pile, handed over my quid and legged it back to the car.

There have been other great purchases in the intervening years including Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland with the “banned” cover, several David Bowie originals and, most recently, a copy of Goats Head Soup by the Rolling Stones with the gatefold cover in immaculate nick for £7 at the Brighton Racecourse boot sale.

It was the first boot sale I had been to in more than a year and I am happy to report it is wonderful.

It was friendly, relaxed and there was a vast array of goods on offer.

As well as my Stones album, I bought several books at a fraction of their original price, plus a rather sad looking teddy bear who looked as though he was begging for a new home. He was originally from Harrods, but has been discounted to £2.50 by the seller. It was impossible to say no and he now resides happily on the rocking chair in my conservatory.

My most recent charity shop buy was the complete Only Fools And Horses DVD box set for £2.50.

Cheap as chips and in my humble opinion still the greatest British comedy of all time. The bargains are still out there if you look... go grab them.