SICK children who will spend Christmas in hospital have been given a boost.

The people of Barrow voted in an online poll, as part of home furniture store Dunelm' ‘delivering joy’ campaign , to give gifts to the children's ward at Furness General Hospital

Dunelm duty manager Tammy Harris, along with store manager Jonathan Sparks, delivered more than 100 gift bags to children’s ward manager Kerry Little and her team.

Tammy said: “We delivered about 110 bags to the children’s ward.

“Myself, Jonathan and a few other colleagues helped load the car and we had five trolleys worth of gifts. I have a Jeep so we were lucky enough to fit everything in there.

“The people of Barrow were just brilliant. We had an influx of gifts donated, it’s been excellent. We only started in October and we have been promoting it a lot on our community page but to receive this many will hopefully put a smile on a lot of kids faces this year.

“Obviously due to Covid we weren’t allowed into the ward so we met Kerry and her team at the front entrance to hand over the gifts.

“Kerry said to me that herself and all the ward staff were absolutely overwhelmed and thanks everyone very much for their donations.”

"It will be wonderful to see the children happy - a lot of smiley faces we hope.”

Bay Hospitals Charity Manager Judith Read said: “We’re extremely grateful to the Dunelm team and customers for thinking of the children at Furness General Hospital this Christmas.

“There’s so much Christmas spirit in the generosity that has been shown.”

Bay Hospitals Charity funds the latest equipment for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust to help make patients more comfortable and ensure they get the best possible care and treatment.

To donate and support your local NHS hospital, contact Bay Hospitals Charity on 01524 516064 or email charity@uhmb.nhs.uk