MORE than 1,000 gifts have been given out to lonely elderly people at Christmas, after a local campaign received incredible support from the community.

The 'Christmas Gift of Love' campaign from Dorsetmums was set launched in November and has completely taken off thanks to the generosity of local people.

Through the project, elderly people who have little or no family have been surprised at Christmas with gifts, with donations pouring in from across the county.

Fiona Elliott, organiser of the campaign, was amazed by the reaction from local people to her idea. She said: "As I started thinking about Christmas I couldn't help but feel sad for all the older people in Dorset who have no family to visit and spend Christmas Day with.

"I asked on the Dorsetmums Facebook page if anyone would like to give a gift with me and over 800 people joined the Dorsetmums Gift of Love Facebook group."

Fiona worked closely with a number of local organisations, including Dorset-based care provider Prama.

She added: "Prama Care were a huge help and allowed local groups and families to drop off gifts to their charity shops and along with other places we had 24 drop off points on total.

"Over 1,000 gifts were donated which were delivered to Prama Care clients, care homes, care providers, Age UK and even some local churches and doctor's surgeries. Every organisation I spoke to understood that our gifts were to be prioritised to those who have little or no family and the thanks we have received has been overwhelming.

"I can't thank our local community enough, it really has been a dream come true and never in a million years did I think we'd receive over 1,000 gift bags. I wish I could be with those who have no one on Christmas Day but at least they'll know someone is thinking of them."

Many businesses operated as drop-off points for people to leave their gifts for the appeal, such as the Beauty Within salon in Dorchester. Sophie Halford, the salon's manager, said: "I just think that what she has done is absolutely amazing.

"We ourselves had 38 gifts donated to our drop off point and it's amazing that there has been more than 1,000 donations. It's such a nice thing for this time of year."