Teenager hopes to smash present collection target

A teenage boy is hoping to beat his fundraising record and collect more than 1,000 presents for The Salvation Army this year.

James, 15, has been organising Christmas present collections for the charity since he was 13.

In his first year, he collected 500 presents from Stafford schools, last year he collected 950, and this year he is aiming higher.

"It's blown me away how many people are so generous and how many people have responded to it in such a positive way," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

James has been inspiring schoolchildren to donate gifts, which are then collected and taken to the Salvation Army centre in Cannock.

The gifts then get distributed to people who might not otherwise get a Christmas present.

The presents can be for anyone aged 0-100, but they must be new and unopened.

"When I first went and we dropped the gifts off there was a wonderful gentleman in tears to see the response - but the appreciation should go to the people who have donated, because without that, nothing would have happened," he said.

"He could be on a PlayStation a lot of the time but he comes up with this idea," James's dad, Dermot, said:

"I've got to say that the schools - the staff there have been absolutely fantastic, they've accommodated it, they've given him the time to do assemblies and help facilitated the collection.

"He's got everybody involved and we're all really proud of him."

People can donate presents to three schools in Stafford by 2 December: Walton High School, Berkswich CE Primary School, and Leasowes Primary School.

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