A FOOD collection project has seen members of the Wokingham Lions Club busy donating food for the elderly and families in need.

The charity started their annual Christmas collection on Saturday, December 1 in Waitrose by asking customers to kindly donate an extra item of shopping.

A total of 3,470 items of food were donated over two weekends on the lead up to Christmas.

John Cleary, organiser of the collection said: "We have had one our best years ever for donations. We would like to thank Wokingham residents for their amazing generosity, as well as our members who donated their time to this annual project."

Food stuffs included canned soups/vegetables, canned fish and meat and non-perishable food such as biscuits, mini Christmas puddings and treats.

Lions club members assembled 10 items into 290 individually mixed food parcels which were then distributed to individuals and families on tight budgets.

Mr Cleary added: "The big smiles and much gratitude expressed by those who receive the parcels make it all worthwhile. This is what Christmas is all about."

The charity also donated 30 boxes of family-sized biscuits, 100 standard sized packs of biscuits, 20 large Christmas puddings and 340 cans of soup and assorted tin foods to local care homes.

Diana Brimblecombe Animal Rescue Centre also received donations of six tins of dog food and 10 packets of cat food to help the rescue animals this festive season.

The Can Can Collection is a community service project that has been running for more than 20 years.

Other recipients of the project is Wokingham Community Hospital, Anthony Toby Homes Trust, The Salvation Army and The Wokingham Foodbank.