JUST call them Mr and Mrs Claus.

Each Christmas when they deliver marketing catalogues across south Oxfordshire, Sharon and Sean Deegan ask customers for a seasonal donation to charity.

But this year when the Wantage couple chose a children’s home in Oxford to benefit from the goodwill they were overwhelmed with the response.

Shoppers splurged £1,100 on toys for the children, from traditional board games like snakes and ladders to iPod speakers and “selfie sticks”. Other gifts included “retro” toys like spinning tops and jigsaw puzzles as well as fluffy slippers and make-your-own jewellery kits.

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Mrs Deegan, 44, said: “We were absolutely bowled over, people have been so generous.

“Some of our customers have been saving their coppers throughout the year.

“They just love taking part; they chose whether to buy something for a boy or a girl. Some people spent £30 on one toy.”

The couple filled five large boxes full of toys for children at Viking House, in Headington, Oxford, and dropped them off on Sunday.

The Headington home, run by children’s charity Barnardo’s, offers breaks for children and young people with disabilities.

The six-bed centre offers a “discrete domiciliary care service” to children.

Children’s services manager at the home Sue Morris said she was overwhelmed by people’s generosity.

She said: “We are extremely grateful to Sharon and Sean for putting so much effort into collecting toys for the children at Viking House.

“We are overwhelmed by the generosity and know that the children here will be very excited.

“We work with children who have diverse and complex disabilities who aren’t always able to have the same experiences as others, so giving them a treat like this will make it really special.”

Mr and Mrs Deegan, who live in Foliat Drive, Wantage, with their four children, deliver Kleeneze catalogues in Abingdon, Wantage, Grove and Faringdon.

Each year Kleeneze runs a Christmas collection for charity, but the Deegans said they had never seen such generosity before. Last year they collected £440, but this year 300 of their 750 customers were moved by festive goodwill after they started collecting in November.

Since collections began in 2011, the firm has collected £200,000-worth of toys for children.

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