Football 'Kitmas' plea for disadvantaged children

The Watson family want to support families with the "extortionate" cost of football shirts

A family is appealing for football kits to give to children as Christmas presents for a fifth year running.

Paul Watson and his wife, Lizzie, originally started Kitmas in Bristol, to get people to donate jerseys to kids who would otherwise go without.

Mr Watson, who now lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, said: "Parents are put in an impossible situation – between choosing heating or buying presents. We want to help them."

Since the project began in 2020, it has raised more than £75,000 and has distributed 6,000 shirts to disadvantaged children across the UK.

The family's living room is covered in football shirts ready to be sent out as presents

The idea has now been "streamlined", with the family appealing for donations for mainly new kits for presents.

Mr Watson continued: "We do ask that the shirt is as new as possible as it’s for a kid at Christmas.

"We do accept older shirts but they'll go to charities - not for presents."

The pair have received support from Mr Watson's brother, comedian Mark Watson, along with comedian Vix Leyton.

Mr Watson added: "This all means the world to me. It all started with just 10 football shirts in our garage in 2020, which we donated to our foodbank and it’s just snowballed.

"The cost of football shirts is extortionate and we're doing everything we can to help families have a fun and low-cost Christmas."