Christmas shoeboxes wanted for elderly people

A charity that supports older people says it expects demand for its Christmas shoebox hampers to be "even bigger" than last year.

The appeal, run by Age UK Hull & East Yorkshire, encourages people to fill shoeboxes with items that can be donated to those who are lonely, isolated, or have no-one to celebrate Christmas with.

The charity said it gave out more than 1,200 hampers last year, and would be accepting donations until 7 December.

Georgina Garton, from Age UK Hull & East Yorkshire, said: "We want people to feel that little bit of Christmas magic. We don't want people to feel alone, we want people to feel like they're not forgotten about."

"We care about them a lot, and we want them to try and have a little bit of Christmas that we all appreciate," she added.

The charity said hampers can include non-perishable food with a best-before date beyond the end of 2026, toiletries, warm clothing or accessories, and small gifts such as diaries, puzzle books and ornaments.

Alternatively, people could make a £5 donation towards the appeal.

The list of drop off points can be found on the Age UK Hull & East Yorkshire website, where the public can also nominate someone they feel would benefit from receiving a hamper.

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