UNIVERSITY staff and students have donated clothes and shoes for homeless people at Christmas.

The two-week collection drive was led by Maggie McDowell, a teaching fellow specialising in criminology at Durham University.

The donated items will be delivered to The Cyrenians charity, in Newcastle, next week for distribution to homeless people on Tyneside before Christmas.

Mrs McDowell first became involved with homeless people in 2009 as part her PhD studies.

She said: “I became aware that homeless service providers collect and distribute clothing and footwear to service users and in so doing, rely heavily on donations from the public.

“Whilst these donations are highly valued, they are also quickly distributed.”

Mrs McDowell said the response of university staff and students to her appeal had been overwhelmingly positive.

She is now looking at running another appeal after Christmas.