YOUNG people living in an apartment scheme for the homeless have received some Christmas cheer thanks to a donation from a council.

North Yorkshire County Council have donated Christmas boxes to The Crossing, a scheme ran by Broadacres in Borougbridge Road, Northallerton.

The boxes, which contain items such as toiletries, clothing, food and Christmas gifts, will be shared among the nine current residents at The Crossing.

Staff working for North Yorkshire County Council’s Customer Service Centre put together 108 boxes for local organisations, with The Crossing receiving 20 of them.

Customer Service Team Leader Allison Forster said: “We had a tremendous response to our request for donations from council staff, friends, family and the local community.

“When we were putting the boxes together we put a lot of thought into what went in them, so the young people at The Crossing will hopefully get a nice surprise on Christmas Day.”

Stephen O’Brien, Broadacres’ Scheme Manger (Young Persons and Women’s Refuge), said: “The boxes are very gratefully received and we would like to thank the Council’s Customer Service Team for such a nice gesture.

“The young people at The Crossing are entirely self-sufficient when it comes to managing their budgets and they often don’t have much money left after paying their rent, so this will really help.”

The Crossing, which opened in 2014, consists of nine, one-bedroom, self-contained apartments for young homeless people aged 16-25.

It provides housing for people who have been left homeless for various reasons, such as a family breakdown. Tenancy-related support is given for up to two years to empower and provide the necessary skills to enable young people to move onto independent living.