BIG-HEARTED police officers, staff and volunteers collected food and presents to support families in need this Christmas.

The group based at Colchester Police Station in Southway, Colchester, handed over non-perishable foods and toiletries for the Colchester Foodbank, which is run by Trussell Trust, and presents and practical items for patients and their families at St Helena Hospice.

The items for the foodbank tipped the scales at 150.5kg.

Chief Inspector Shaun Kane said: “The Colchester Foodbank and St Helena Hospice are just two of the brilliant organisations who do amazing work all year round to support the people who need it most in our district.

“Christmas is a time for celebration but we are acutely aware it can be a very difficult time of year for some members of our community.

“We wanted to do our little bit to try and ease some of the stress, and we hope our small contribution will help.”

Michael Beckett, manager at Colchester Foodbank said: “Our trustees, volunteers and clients at the foodbank would like to say a big thank you for the generous support from the local police and community that keeps us going.

“We fed more than 6,300 people last year, of which over a third were children.

“The sad news is the trend is for increased use of the foodbank.

"Despite our best efforts to help people not to need to use our service, many more people find themselves in crisis and are referred by frontline agencies to use our emergency service.”

Sarah Wilson, corporate partnerships manager at St Helena Hospice, said: “Thank you so much to everyone who has donated.

"Christmas can be a difficult time for our patients and their loved ones, so for them to know people in our community are thinking of them will be a great comfort.”