PICKMERE Community Group has shown great Christmas spirit by supporting Age UK’s annual charity appeal.

Working with Sam Paynter, the manager of The Red Lion in Pickmere, the group invited residents to take a gift label from a Giving Tree set up in the pub on Pickmere Lane.

They were asked to return the label attached to a wrapped Christmas present which Age UK Cheshire could distribute to the needy.

The scheme caught the attention of the community, which responded generously.

Gifts donated ranged from practical items such as warm clothing to seasonal edible treats which would be unaffordable luxuries to those receiving them.

Age UK Cheshire representative Brian Roberts was invited to the Red Lion to meet members of the community group, together with Sam Paynter and Red Lion staff, to collect the presents.

Brian said: “I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity shown by the Pickmere community.

“We are hugely grateful to the organisers and to all those who donated in support of our Christmas appeal to help the aged in Northwich and surrounding areas.

“These gifts will make a real difference to the less fortunate and possibly lonely older members in our community.

“Many people helped by Age UK Cheshire have no family or friends with which to share the festivities, so a simple gesture of a gift from a kind stranger can have a real impact.”