Christmas arrived in May, thanks to a Witney swimming pool firm.

Staff at Certikin International saved the money which would have been spent on Christmas cards and donated it to two charities.

The £700 was split between Oxford Brookes University's support group for the Meningitis Trust and Water Aid, which provides safe drinking water in the Third World.

The Brookes group has raised £7,000 in memory of student Adam Prior who died from meningitis in 1999.

Friend Paul Nolan, said: "Adam will always be in our thoughts. A lot has been done since his death to combat the disease and raise the public's awareness.

"It is important, however, not to become complacent and donations such as this help to keep it in the news."

The cheques were handed over by Patrick Thorpe, managing director of Certikin, the UK's largest manufacturer and distributor of swimming pool equipment, based at Witney's Station lane industrial estate.