Charity Dogs for the Disabled is hoping to get a belated Christmas present.

High street bank Barclays will be selling a zip pull of Dogs for the Disabled character Hero throughout January.

Proceeds from the sale of the zip pulls, which cost £1, will be donated to the Banbury-based charity.

Cathryn Simpson, corporate partnership manager for Dogs for the Disabled, said: “Many of our clients tell us that before they were partnered with their assistance dog, they were reluctant to leave the house, even to visit their local shops.”

To launch the initiative at the bank's Banbury branch, assistance dog Pepsi and trainer Claire Mehmet showed staff and customers some of the tasks a dog can help a person do, including helping to remove gloves and picking up a dropped purse.

Gemma Kaye, Barclays' community operations support manager, added: “Barclays looks forward to supporting their great work with a counter appeal opportunity throughout our 1,736 branches nationwide during January.”

banbury@oxfordmail.co.uk