HUNDREDS of hampers have been donated to a foodbank by generous council staff to help make sure no-one goes hungry over Christmas.

Durham County Council staff have brought in items to be used by Durham Foodbank to create special Christmas hampers.

Pamela Glaister, senior enforcement officer at Durham County Council, has donated approximately 140 selection boxes on behalf of the planning and highways teams.

She said: “Children are the innocent ones and simple selection boxes are something we take for granted at Christmas but are not always a necessity for families in need.

“It seemed a simple task to donate them for the children to help bring a smile to their faces and some normality to their Christmas Day”.

The boxes from County Hall were handed over by Cllr Jane Brown to Peter MacLellan, from Durham Christian Partnership.

“Christmas is a time for celebration but not everyone can enjoy the kind of things we take for granted,” she said.

“Buying an extra item when we do our shopping isn’t a huge burden for most people and we are delighted to be able to give these boxes to the foodbank to help make Christmas a little bit brighter”.

Peter MacLellan said: “December is a busy time for the foodbank and we know a lot of families struggle throughout the month.

“These hampers can make a real difference to people over the festive period and we are extremely grateful to staff at Durham County Council for their generous donation.”

Taylor Shaw, the company which supplies meals to Durham County Council’s primary schools, also donated 40 tins of chocolates, tea bags and coffee while food supplier Batleys contributed 240 cans of tinned rice pudding and cartons of orange juice.

Collections will continue until January 19 when any remaining items will be passed over to the foodbank.