More than 230 shoebox parcels of toys and other gifts have been prepared by schoolchildren in Didcot.

Becky Coombes, left, and Charlotte Davis with some of the boxes

The boxes are now awaiting collection and will be despatched to children abroad who are homeless or whose lives are blighted by poverty, disaster and war.

Ladygrove Park Primary School, All Saints' Primary School and Ladygrove Primary and Nursery School joined forces to support the Operation Christmas Child appeal.

Wendy Hunter, a teaching assistant at All Saints, said the children collected a variety of gifts small enough to pack inside a shoebox.

She added: "The children packed some of their favourite toys as well as writing a Christmas card or sending a photograph of themselves."

The parcels will be distributed by the charity Samaritan's Purseto children in more than 100 countries.