STAFF from a restaurant in York donated more than 450 chocolate eggs to a trust in the city for Easter, to help young people enjoy their holiday.

The team from Toby Carvery in Malton Road, York, wanted to help The Snappy Trust reach their goal of collecting 300 Easter eggs to give to children in the city.

On April 4, the team set off to meet this challenge with 16 Easter eggs donated by staff and, with 10 days to go, they still needed around 250 eggs.

Allison Merrit, who works at the Toby Carvery restaurant, said: "Here at the Toby Carvery, we were ready to rise to the challenge. Six members of staff and myself wanted to do the best job we could for The Snappy Trust."

Allison used her knowledge of the local area to her advantage and the team started calling the small businesses to ask if they could help them.

"We also called in at the local shops on foot. Nothing was too much for us, we wanted to reach our goal," Allison added.

By Sunday April 10, the team had chocolate egg donations coming in by the hour - but, at around lunch time, they still needed 153 eggs with three days to go.

Allison added: "We weren't sure if we would be able to do it. We set up a collection tin for cash on our bar and thankfully many guests helped us on our way."

Staff members then started recruiting their family members to donate - and one even went to buy £130 worth of eggs.

The team received their last Easter egg donation on Tuesday April 12 - and then the count began.

After totting up, they had managed to collect 462 Easter eggs to be donated to The Snappy Trust - smashing the original target of 300.

York Press:

As the trust only needed 300, the Toby Carvery workers decided to approach their local food bank and offer some to them, along with a £50 donation.

Allisons said Hillary, who works at the Bellfarm Community Food Bank, was "more than happy" to take the donations.

They also purchased canned food with the cash donated in the collection tin, as they felt this would help the food bank support the local community more.

Allison added: "These charities are a vital part of everyone’s communities, without them disabled children would have no clubs or trips to look forward to.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to all staff at Toby Carvery, you are amazing."

The Snappy Trust is a small charity dedicated to maximising the personal development of children and young people with wide ranging disabilities.

Find out more about the trust on the website here.