THE last of three lorries filled with shoeboxes of toys and gifts for under-privileged children in Eastern Europe set out from a warehouse in Melksham on Saturday.

There were nearly 10,000 boxes on board the lorry, bringing to over 32,000 sent out by the Wiltshire branch of the Samaritan's Purse, the Christian charity which runs Operation Christmas Child.

The total of shoeboxes is a new record for the county. Last year the total was just over 31,000. One lorry set out two weeks ago with a load of presents for children in the Ukraine and the following week another left for Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Hilary McFall, the Wiltshire co-ordinator for the campaign, was not present on Saturday to see the last lorry leave, as she had herself gone to Serbia the day before to help distribute shoeboxes to children there.

But Ursula McKinnon, who co-ordinated collections of filled shoeboxes in Kennet district, was full of praise for everyone who had contributed this year.

She said: "There are just too many people to thank individually so I would like to say thanks to them all. I wish it wasn't necessary to arrange these gifts for needy children, but as it is, I can only say how grateful I am. Everyone has been so generous."

The collection of shoeboxes in Devizes, the Lavingtons, Marlborough and Pewsey hit a new record this year. Mrs McKinnon and her band of volunteers were able to take 2,580 boxes to the warehouse in Melksham, nearly 800 more than last year's figure of 1,800.

Mrs McKinnon said: "It is lovely that our children are doing this. We have to open the boxes to check that the contents are all right and remove the £2 contribution to transport costs. They are put together so beautifully it makes you want to cry.

"There is not enough publicity for the positive things children do. They did a fantastic job."

But it is not just schoolchildren who have been involved in Operation Christmas Child. Groups of adults throughout Kennet have also lent a hand. A group from Pewsey Methodist Church contributed more than 400 shoeboxes and a similar group in Collingbourne Ducis were not far behind.

Because the boxes are going to countries where winter is very harsh, warm gloves, scarves and hats are welcome additions to the shoebox presents. Mrs McKinnon has a band of dedicated knitters who spend most of the year producing some 2,000 knitted items for inclusion in the boxes.

Soft toys, both secondhand and new, are also donated by residents and businesses and they also find their way into the boxes.

Now the hard-working volunteers behind Operation Christmas Child can take a deep breath and look back on some hard work. Mrs McKinnon said: "It is always worthwhile."