THE warm, soft crackle as you drop the needle onto the record, the hiss of anticipation – there’s no doubt that vinyl has a magic to it.

But there’s something even more magical about discovering the dusty jacket of that elusive LP tucked in the shelves of a secondhand store.

Vinyl addicts flocked from miles around at the weekend to a tiny Oxfam store in Chipping Norton which held its biggest vinyl sell-off since it opened five years ago.

In May and June the shop received two major anonymous donations of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s gold – a total of 570 LPs and 340 singles. Staff estimated the sale could net the charity more than £5,000.

For the past two months, the shop has been advertising its upcoming sale, creating a buzz among collectors.

On Saturday morning they flung open the doors, and were not disappointed with the reception.

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Volunteer Dave Sluman, a vinyl buff himself with a collection of about 1,000 records, said within 15 minutes he had 10 customers riffling through his records.

Among them were Mike Lewis, 62, who runs Vinyl Vault record store in Cheltenham, and fellow collector Jonathan Taylor, from Gloucester.

Mr Taylor, 58, picked up five bargain albums including a much sought-after first pressing of the Family Entertainment LP by 60s prog rock band Family, for £14.99.

He said: “We were here first thing and I walked out with five albums for £30.”

The first of the two donations to the shop mostly contained 60s and 70s rock and prog rock – bands like Jethro Tull, Cream and The Who.

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Volunteer Ray Griffiths with one of his favourites

But it was the second haul which Mr Sluman said was slightly more unusual from a charity shop’s point of view, being mostly punk and post punk from the 80s and 90s – bands such as Joy Division and The Stranglers.

The 54-year-old civil servant, who volunteers at the shop part-time, said the vinyl windfall could not have come at a better time, with vinyl currently undergoing something of a revival among music fans.

He said: “The teenagers and a lot of that age group are definitely getting into it and sales are going up.

“It’s the whole experience of having something which you can hold and open up which you don’t get with a CD, and then there’s the physical experience of playing it.

“Also, the general opinion is that you get a different sound from vinyl, which most people would agree is better.

“If you’re a person who sits at home and decides not to watch TV but listen to music, you play it on vinyl.”

But of course the most important thing for the shop is the money it will make for Oxfam.

As shop manager Tony Cooper put it: “£5,000 – that’s an awful lot of goats.”