A CHARITY is lifting children's spirits this Christmas despite the cancellation of its hugely popular festive grotto.

Festive spirit has not been dampened at the Barrow & District Disability Association who have produced a video guaranteed to get children feeling jolly.

The BDDA, based in School Street in Barrow, traditionally hosts a Christmas grotto each December which sees more than 2,000 people pass through its doors.

However, this year the charity has been forced to cancel its annual grotto due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Instead, the team is bringing the festive spirit to children's homes in a virtual way.

Margaret Burrow, honorary chief executive of the BDDA, said: "Both Nanny Elf and myself cannot visit the BDDA with our grotto this year because we have to obey the rule for people to social distance to keep everybody safe and well.

"It hasn’t been easy for anyone this year. We love coming to see the lovely children and it seems strange not to be able to come to the Barrow & District Disability Association grotto for the first time in about 25 years but all the nice people there want the children to still have a fabulous Merry Christmas and will be doubly happy to see everyone next year."

The video, hosted by Nanny Elf, features a range of Christmas songs and dances guaranteed to lift children's festive spirits.

As well as this, the BDDA has hidden an array of hand-painted pebbles across the town for children to find during the festive period.

Mrs Burrow said: "Nanny Elf asked if her and some of her elf friends could paint pebbles to hide around Barrow, of course I said they could.

"Already I have had nice messages from some children to say how pleased they were to find one of her special pebbles.

"She also asked me to tell grown ups if they found a people but didn’t have a child, to pass it onto a child who would love to receive one.

"That is why Nanny Elf calls them her ‘Pass a Pebble’ pebbles, they are so nice and are hand painted with love."