A new supply of hand-knitted teddy bears have been donated to help bring comfort to children in hospital.

The 200 teddies of all shapes and sizes were knitted by members of the Home League Christian Fellowship organisation of the Salvation Army's Gorse Hill branch.

They will be given to youngsters undergoing treatment and operations in the children's ward at Swindon's Princess Margaret Hospital.

Home League secretary Honour Webb said: "We love knitting these teddies and have already handed over 50 or 60 of them.

"The nurses give them to boys and girls in the hospital who are ill or going in for an operation. It gives them a bit of comfort and helps to settle them. Some of the children can take the teddy bears home with them when they leave.''

The bears are all colours, up to 14 inches tall and dressed in all sorts of clothes and costumes.

"We have some 40 members and many are housebound, but this doesn't stop them helping out. One of our old ladies took some knitting patterns home and told her friends to knit ten teddies each.''