SO-CALLED "carpetbaggers" - people who open building society accounts in the hope of scooping a big windfall - are helping to boost the funds of a major charity.

The Skipton Building Society has insisted that new account openers make a donation of £25 to the NSPCC and so far it has raised a staggering £100,000.

However, Skipton spokesman David Charlton, admitted that the £25 donation had put some people off.

He said: "Service in our branches is slowly getting back to normal as our objective in introducing this initiative, to slow down the number of speculative accounts, begins to work.

"I'm delighted that we've turned a negative into a positive."

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