FOR his 40th birthday, Andrew Coles was given 28 cans of baked beans, 31 cans of vegetables and a lot of pasta.

No, he doesn’t just really like non-perishable food... Rather than ask for presents for himself, the West Oxfordshire district councillor asked friends and family to make donations to the West Oxfordshire Food Bank.

Yesterday, he delivered the hundreds of dried, tinned and canned donations to the bank’s base at Elim Church in Witney.

Mr Coles, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday, said: “I am very concerned about the growing levels of poverty, even in affluent areas like Witney.

“More people have been forced to rely on the kindness of others.

“I expected people to bring a couple of items, but they brought big shopping bags full.”

He also praised the work of the food bank volunteers.

If you would like to donate to the foodbank, call 07557 979 384.