A project saw 114 shoeboxes full of gifts donated by St Albans and Welwyn Garden City residents to those in need over Christmas.

Herts Advertiser: Christmas shoeboxes were donated by St Albans and Welwyn Garden residents for Operation Secret Santa. Picture: Operation Secret SantaChristmas shoeboxes were donated by St Albans and Welwyn Garden residents for Operation Secret Santa. Picture: Operation Secret Santa (Image: Archant)

Operation Secret Santa collected shoeboxes and delivered them to St Albans and Hertsmere Women's Refuge and Herts Young Homeless, as well as donating £170 to homelessness charities.

The boxes were wrapped in Christmas paper, and filled with a card for the recipient and gifts including clothing, toys, toiletries, gift vouchers and sweets.

Founder Aisha Khayat said: "I am so grateful for all the support for this project. We were overwhelmed with the amount of donations we received and we will be looking forward to running the project again next year.

"I want to thank the teams at The Womens Refuge and Herts Young Homeless for their support. They were busy working during the holidays and without them this wouldn't have been possible."