Madrid children call mayor after missing out on Epiphany gifts

The Three Wise Men Mechor (C), Gaspar (R) and Baltasar (L) greet people during a procession in Madrid

Eight children in Madrid who did not receive gifts during a Christian celebration were instead given them by the local town hall, reports say.

In an interview Mayor Manuela Carmena had urged children waking up without presents on Epiphany to "call the town hall because that's not right".

A mother-of-five from Pakistan was among those calling in at the behest of a son.

The 6 January feast day of Epiphany is widely celebrated in Spain.

Children polish their shoes on the eve of the event known as "El Dia de los Reyes" (the Day of the Kings) and leave them ready for the Three Kings to put their presents in. For many Spaniards the day is as significant as Christmas.

• What is epiphany?

The other cases involve a seven-year-old boy and two children from a divorced couple who were unemployed and had their grandmother calling officials, newspaper El Mundo (in Spanish) reports.

Council workers collected money to buy toys for the children, and although the deliveries were late "due to logistical problems" the children were eventually given their gifts at the city hall, the report added.

Madrid's mayor had said on Twitter: "Dear Three Kings: There are a lot of neighbourhoods in Madrid, please don't forget any boy, any girl, don't leave any child without a toy"