Residents and staff at Colten Care’s New Forest care home Woodpeckers came up with a Christmas community project to hep local families.

The Outstanding-rated home collected food items, wrapped them and put them in specially decorated boxes. The boxes were given to Lyndhurst Food Bank to distribute to families in need, along with other gifts including crackers and tableware.

Local businesses and organisations helped the scheme by sponsoring boxes.    Each box was labelled with the message “Happy Christmas from the residents and staff at Woodpeckers care home, Brockenhurst”.

Woodpeckers Companionship Team member Jo Anderson said: “We are delighted to have been able to hand over so many beautifully presented boxes to the food bank. When their volunteers visited us to pick up the gifts, they spent time with residents, explaining how valuable the contribution was and how it would really help the families they work with.”

Woodpeckers resident Patricia Hoy said: “It was most enjoyable to be a part of a group in this important project. Knowing it will help families in need this Christmas is very satisfying.”