Jersey Christmas present shoeboxes delivered in Romania

Charity workers said there was "always a need" for support

Nearly 3,000 shoeboxes filled with Christmas presents have been delivered in Romania, a charity has said.

Mustard Seed Jersey said the boxes and more than £11,000 were safely received in Bihor County after being donated by people in Jersey, Sark and the UK.

The money would be used for food parcels, winter fuel and help with medical needs, charity bosses said.

Staff are also working on how to deal with changes that Brexit was bringing to sending donations.

Alex Stroie, who works for the charity in Romania, said the support helped those who needed it most.

"There is always a need and it's always larger than what we have, so we select very carefully where we go and what we do," he said.

Mustard Seed Jersey Founder trustee Rose Helie-Pallot said because the Brexit transition period was over "paperwork requirements for sending humanitarian aid to Romania are far, far more complicated".

She said Romanian social workers were "investigating on our behalf to try to establish exactly what will be acceptable in the future".

She added that supporters were being warned that "that there may well be changes to the requirements of the Christmas shoeboxes for 2022, and we really do encourage people to check with us before they collect any items for shoeboxes".