HUNDREDS of toys and other gifts have once again been donated by Hexham residents for children who might not otherwise receive a Christmas present.

Around 300 gifts were dropped off at Aligned Chiropractic, on Hencotes, which has been a drop-off point for the Salvation Army's toy appeal for 13 years.

Lucy Norton-Ellison, senior chiropractic assistant, said: "Every year we wonder how much we are going to get and you never quite know, everybody has had a difficult year and it's always the charities that miss out.

"But it's just phenomenal, as soon as you mention children and Christmas, people just want to help."

The chiropractor first offered to be a drop-off point for the appeal after it opened in Hexham in 2008.

"It was phenomenal the first year and even though we were a relatively small business at the time, we just had this huge pile of toys to donate," said Lucy.

"And then it grew, getting bigger and bigger every year.

"Every year it's just incredible to see that people are as generous as they are."

The gifts donated this year include books, stationery, doll houses, a scooter, and perfumes.

"There's such a wide range of stuff," said Lucy.

"One thing the Salvation Army have always said to us in the past is that teenagers are harder to buy for, so they often get forgotten about a bit.

"We've really tried this year and last year to encourage people to bring in things for that age group too."

Lucy added they have no plans to stop the annual tradition.

"We're so grateful that we have practice members who have been coming to us for 13 years and they've supported us every year," she said.

"Even if they're not seeing us as regularly as 13 years ago, they're still coming in and donating. It's something they ask us about before we even advertise it."

The Salvation Army has been running its Christmas present appeal for more than two decades.