Thousands of children queue for hours for chance of a Christmas gift

The queue outside Bolivia's national football stadium stretched for several blocks this morning as tens of thousands of children waited for Christmas to arrive early.

In what has become a annual event, local businesses and charities invited kids into the stadium for a Christmas show and to receive one present each.

Many of the families spent last night outside the Estadio Hernando Siles in the capital La Paz to guarantee themselves a place in the queue.

For many of the children, it is their only chance of getting a Christmas present this year.

A convoy of large pick-up trucks arrived at the stadium, each laden with tarpaulin sacks full of gifts.

The toys were then handed out one-by-one - dolls for the girls and plastic tractors for the boys.

One mother, named Elena Mamani, said: "I have six children and I don't have enough money to buy gifts for my children, so I brought them here.

"We've had to sleep the day before to receive these gifts."

Over the past 25 years, Carros De Fuego, an organisation run by the Catholic Church, has been working with volunteers and businesses to run the event.

Joselin Rocha from La Paz's Radio Fides said: "We're not looking for any profits other than the pay-off of a smile on our dear children."

She added: "This year, we had 35,000 smiles and [we have sponsored] 25 years of toys for children."

"I'm going to play with my doll and I am going going to sleep with my doll. I will play with her everyday. I'm very happy," said Lizet Ayaviri.

Bolivia is one of South America's poorest economy with an estimated 20 percent of its population living in extreme poverty.