More than 100 shoeboxes full of gifts were collected and packed for underprivileged children around the world by volunteers in Hornchurch.

The event came after weeks of donations and 50 volunteers got together to put the boxes together over the weekend.

Over the weekend the gifts were handed in at the Hornchurch Baptist Church, North Street, as part of the Operation Christmas Child appeal run by the Samaritan’s Purse relief organisation.

Hornchurch Life blogger Andy Wilkin, who was involved in the collection, said: “It was a fun day of carefully picking and choosing presents for our shoeboxes, whose age range the packer chose before hand.”

He has written online about how his wife saw first-hand how the goods from Christmas shoebox appeals are used on a visit to Kosovo. This was the final collection for the Hornchurch Baptist Church, but people can still donate at selected drop off points. To find one near you visit http://operationchristmaschild.org.uk/locate.