CHILDREN at a mother and toddler group have received a belated Christmas present - £1,000-worth of toys.

Officials from the Government's SureStart programme, which aims to give preschool children the best start in life, donated the money after an appeal by Sarah Hutchison, who started the Little Angels Mother and Toddler Group in Coundon, because the village had no facilities for new parents.

In the six months it has been running, membership has grown with more than a dozen mums and their children meeting every Friday at the Coundon and Leeholme Community Project building.

Mrs Huchison, said: "We have really struggled for toys, so this donation is a lifeline. Until now we have had to buy second-hand out of money collected by local fundraising."