AS Santa piled his sleigh high with presents, charity workers made sure rough sleepers had something to unwrap come Christmas morning.

Homeless people in Oxford were treated to 'care packages' put together by Leys Community Development Initiative (CDI), which handed them out on Christmas Eve to stave off hunger and cold.

The charity, which works to improve the lives of people living in Blackbird Leys, delivered the gifts to 50 homeless people across the city.

Leys CID's youth project manager Marsha Jackson said: "We gave out hats, gloves, scarves, toiletries and food and took them a hot meal and coffee and sleeping bags. It was really nice because it was like we'd made their Christmas; people actually cared. We weren't just handing stuff out, we were having conversations. We were sharing Christmas Eve with others."

A band of helpers split into groups and gave out the care packages to people in Cowley centre, Cowley Road and across the city centre.

The project was made possible by more than £1,000 of donations, which also aided CDI's community Christmas dinner held earlier this month.

Ms Jackson, who appealed in the Oxford Mail for fundraising help, said: "We want to say a big thank you to all those who supported us.

"We always do something over Christmas but nothing this big. We do have plans for 2017 - definitely watch this space."

Among donors were city councillors, manufacturing firm Unipart and Waitrose.