CARING council staff have provided Christmas presents for the borough's under-privileged children.

Colleagues at Dudley Council have collected 883 gifts to donate to to the annual Operation Santa Toy Appeal.

The appeal is run by Dudley Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) in aid of children who may not otherwise receive a Christmas gift.

This year more than 4,000 items have been donated.

Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Alan Finch, said: “There are more than 15,000 children in Dudley who live in households with income below the poverty line.

"Operation Santa is a fantastic and sadly vital initiative and I’d like to thank everyone who gave time, thought and money to help children who are less fortunate than themselves.”