HUNDREDS of toys, tins of food and other gifts have poured in to The Press offices as generous readers get behind our annual Toys & Tins Appeal.

The drive to spread some festive cheer among York’s needy this Christmas has been given a special boost by staff at Benenden Health in Holgate Park Drive, who have collected many boxes of toys and tins.

Nicola Taylor, communications co-ordinator at Benenden Health, said: “The Press’s Toys & Tins Appeal really does make a difference to so many people in the local York area.

“We’ve had a great response from our colleagues who have really got behind the cause and we are delighted to be able to help bring some festive cheer to local people who are in need this Christmas.”

Toys, toiletries and bags have also come from members of the congregation at St Nicholas’s Church at Dunnington, where they were collected as part of its St Nicholas Celebrations.

Items are going to two vital local organisations; York’s Women’s Aid Refuge, where mothers and their children go to escape from domestic abuse, and the Salvation Army, which helps the homeless and others in great need. Both organisations have visited The Press this week and left loaded with boxes and boxes of toys, toiletries, books and games.

Refuge manager Lesley Ann McNulty and Major Andrew Dunkinson, of the Salvation Army, thanked readers for their fantastic response, but reminded anyone who has not yet brought items in that they still have four days left to do so.

Lesley said the appeal really made all the difference for the ten families who would be staying at the centre over the festive season, but would also help others who had moved back into the community after seeking safety there.

The Salvation Army is looking for any non-perishable foods as well as toys, including, tins of meat and fish, tins of vegetables and soup, cereals, long-life milk and tinned desserts. The organisation will hand out food hampers to people in need who are referred to it by statutory bodies and other organisations.

• Readers who have not yet dropped off their gifts at our office reception in Walmgate, can do so any day this week, between 9am and 5pm, until Thursday evening.