A Bromley charity is offering the borough's poorest families a Christmas hamper to help ease the holiday's financial burden.

Bromley Brighter Beginnings, a volunteer group led by local parents, will deliver around 100 hampers to homes and refuges at the start of December, packed with presents like toys, board games and chocolates, and essentials such as food and warm clothing.

All recipients are nominated by local professionals such as social workers, teachers or GPs, so the charity are confident they are reaching the right people.

Charity founder and trustee Nancy Lengthorn said: “The families we work with simply don’t have the luxury of enjoying Christmas.

"Instead, they worry about the lack of gift for a child that still believes in Father Christmas or they stress about the fact that during the school holidays there will be no free school meals.

"All of this creates a huge psychological burden for parents.

"When we all pull together, we can alleviate some of this anxiety and ensure that families are more able to enjoy the festive season.

"We’re so grateful that our supporters have helped so many children be warm, fed and happy at a time of year many take for granted.”

A new addition to the campaign this year is the opportunity for supporters to join the team for a day of hamper packing, bringing charity to the heart of the festive season and teaching children about the importance of supporting those in need.

The families benefitting from the hampers ARE below the poverty line, in difficult circumstances, some are living in refuges, having recently fled violent situations with no possessions to their name.

Nancy added: “As volunteers, we get such pleasure from putting the hampers together and this year, we’ve decided to share that experience with supporters.

“All of the charity’s volunteers are parents and we know it is important to teach our children about kindness and social responsibility.

“Joining us for the big hamper pack is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

“We hope this will make our work more transparent to people who have been supporting us and if it becomes a lovely tradition for local families, then we’ll be delighted.”