'Kitmas': The Stroud family ensuring disadvantaged children receive Christmas gifts

• Watch Katie Rowlett's report.

A family from Stroud has been buying and distributing football shirts before sending them to disadvantaged children all around the country.

The 'Kitmas' appeal run by husband and wife Paul and Lizzie Watson is now in its second year following huge success in 2020 which saw 1,000 kits given out across the country.

The couple ask for donations of new football kits or cash donations and this year they say they have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support they have received.

"What we found when we started doing this is the demand is bigger than we ever could have anticipated", Paul said.

"This year is an especially tough time for a lot of families," he continued.

"A lot of families will be wondering how they're going to find something for their children so we have been going to community groups and asking if we can give them shirts to families they work with."

Paul said the children's responses are always "heartwarming and eye-opening."

"There's a story of a 13 year-old who had a Barcelona towel that was his prized possession and when he got sent a Barcelona shirt - he couldn't believe it was his."

The couple already have 2,000 shirts ready to dispatch, and Paul's wife Lizzie said while the project is time consuming, it's worth every minute.

"Probably every other sentence we say to each other is 'this is a bit insane isn't it?'", she said.

"We are doing it at 11 o'clock at night when we should be sleeping, but it's worth it, if there's a child that will be happy at Christmas."

The couple hope to become a registered charity and work with local football clubs to launch their own kitmas campaign so no child is left without a present at Christmas time.