More than 1,600 gift filled shoeboxes are set to delight the Christmas’s of vulnerable Romanian and Ukrainian children, thanks to kind-hearted Richmond residents.

Operation Christmas Child has been accepting donations from local residents across the borough including Barnes, Teddington and Twickenham to fill shoe boxes of presents to less fortunate children.

Richmond’s Operation Christmas Child co-ordinator, Pauline Ramdhony, said: “It’s tremendous to see such kindness, particularly at a time when the economic downturn is hitting so many people.

“Everyone who has donated a shoebox can be absolutely certain that it will have a very positive impact on the child who receives it.”