CHRISTMAS cheer well and truly arrived in Fairplace Church in November, as the church rapidly filled with Christmas shoe boxes for deprived children.

The church has collected around 600 boxes this year, acting as a drop-off point for people in the town to donate.

The collection is part of Operation Christmas Child, with people filling a shoebox full of small gifts for children living in deprived parts of Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

A total of 375 of the boxes were filled by the Fairplace Church Wives' and Friends' Group. There were also generous donations from Okehampton Primary School, Lewtrenchard Primary, Sourton Parish Church, and the North Tawton Benefice churches.

The boxes have now been taken to the Exeter depot. The first lot of boxes were shipped out to Ukraine last Thursday, with a shipment to Romania taking place on Monday.

Shirley Webb, secretary of the Fairplace Church Wives' and Friends' Group, said: 'The warehouse in Exeter is a wonderful sight with lots of busy people helping to get the boxes ready in time.

'Many people have been knitting hats, mittens and scarves and collecting items to fill the boxes. There will be a lot of very happy children this Christmas.'