A MOTHER was inundated with offers to fill Christmas shoe boxes after posting an appeal for help on Facebook.

Charlotte Waugh, 33, bought 20 ready-decorated shoe boxes after being moved to tears by a video about Operation Christmas Child.

The mother-of-two who is originally from Malvern and now lives in Kempsey, was amazed by the response when she asked her friends to help.

She ordered another 20 shoe boxes to meet the demand, and delivered 35 boxes filled with gifts on Wednesday, November 16.

"I saw on Facebook a Samaritan's video of African children opening Christmas boxes. I watched it and thought 'I have to do a box'," she said.

"It made me cry, seeing the children opening the box and having children myself, it pulls on the heart strings."

The mother bought 20 shoe boxes being sold by Samaritan's Purse after viewing the Facebook video.

She said her Facebook post asking for people to help fill them with treats went 'crazy' and led her to order another pack.

"We had a good little system going where we'd leave empty boxes and leaflets in my mum's porch for people to collect," she said.

"Once filled, they just dropped them back again. We delivered them all last week, my eldest thought he was Santa Claus.

"We will definitely do it again next year, hopefully we get an even bigger response."

The mother filled her Christmas shoe box with sweets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, a doll, books, pencils and more.

Since 1995 the UK-based evangelical group Samaritan's Purse have run Operation Christmas Child.

A spokesman for Samaritan's Purse said: "A small shoebox can have a big impact. What goes into the box is fun, but what comes out of it is eternal.

"Be a part of changing children’s lives all over the world in Jesus’ name through the power of a simple gift with Operation Christmas Child."