A DARLINGTON charity has received letters and pictures from school children to keep the spirits up of residents during this years difficult Christmas season, thanks to a Christmas initiative.

Darlington Support, which was set up to help local people during the pandemic, received cards, drawing and messages about festive season.

These will be delivered by Darlington Support volunteers when delivering meals, shopping, prescriptions or books to local residents.

Vanessa Hilton, who leads a team of volunteers for Darlington Support in the Hummersknott area, said: "This will be an unusual Christmas for our community. We would like to do everything we can to support the town during this period.

"The beautiful cards and pictures from local school children will come as a nice surprise to many residents. We would like to say a massive thank you to every pupil who has taken part in this project.”

Sajna Ali, Darlington Borough Councillor, said: "It's lovely to spread some kindness through our local pupils."