Big-hearted members of a Perth-based Facebook page have banded together to give a Christmas boost to a toy collection for Syrian children.
Rocking horses, dolls houses, books and cuddly toys are among the items collected by the group, who are all members of the 5.0 Speed Trap & Accident Perthshire group.
The toys will be transported to the war-torn country by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, which has been sending aid packages to Syria for the past 16 months.
A spokesman for the page said the he was inspired to ask the members for toys after reading about the dire situation in the country.
He said: “A lot of the local appeals for presents are to benefit children in this country.
“That is a great thing to do but I just felt that while those children may not have a mum or a dad, or a lot of money, at least they have a roof over their heads and are not worrying about bombs falling every night.
“Even if they don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s a gift for them — something which is sorely needed. It’s not just physical pain that they are experiencing, but it’s the mental impact as well, so we wanted to do anything we could just to put a wee smile on their face.”
Tracy Johnstone, of the church’s Perth base, received the collection from the group.
“We were hoping to have it away before Christmas. The problem they have is that it’s difficult to get to. With all the paper work it’s going to be January.
“We are just doing what we can. We started off just gathering clothes and toiletries — essentials. But now we can take just about anything, except large furniture.
“We can’t send duvets unless they are new and in packaging, which is sickening as they are needed.
“We’ve been doing this for 16 months and the people of Perth have donated 37 tonnes.”
She added that any item that cannot be sent to Syria is sold to a scrap dealer, to raise further funds to help those in the country.