PEOPLE using a Trafford food bank are getting a surprise treat in their festive parcels this year.

Organisers and volunteers at the Trafford Assist food bank in Partington have been handing out more than 100 advent calendars, which were donated following an appeal by Trafford resident Amanda Beesley on social media.

Local resident and donor Amanda Beesley said, “I saw an appeal that comedian Jason Manford was making on Facebook about donating advent calendars to a charity and I thought it would be really nice to try and do it locally in our community.”

“I found out about the food bank here in Partington and I thought they did great work, so I posted a status on my page three weeks ago asking friends to donate advent calendars in order to help families in need this Christmas.

She adds, “The response has been amazing. Partington is full of so many nice, generous people and another positive has been a lot of people have said that they didn’t know that there was a food bank here so we’ve raised a lot of awareness as well.”

Dale Maskell, of Citizens Advice Trafford, who run the Trafford Assist food banks said: “Amanda did it completely off her own back. It was such a lovely thought.”