Teddy bears take over Shropshire family home as 160 toys collected for children across the world

Lorraine Randall and her two boys, Liam, 9, and Charlie, 5, have been busy collecting teddy bears over the last few weeks of the summer.

Their home in Market Drayton has been full to the brim of fluffy bears, rabbits, penguins and every sort of animal toy you can imagine.

The family collected a total of 167 teddies from their own stores, and from friends and family.

The trio then drove to Leominster over the weekend to donate them to The Teddy Trust – a charity which collects teddies from children around the UK and sends them to children who are suffering the traumas of war, starvation or abuse.

Lorraine said the boys have loved collecting the teddies and learning about the charity and other children who are in a different position to them.

"Last year around Christmas we collected advent calendars for food banks and the Alice charity, but this year the boys and I decided to collect teddies," Lorraine said.

"We don't really use them anymore so it's nice to be able to give them to someone else, and I was sure others would feel the same. I did some research and found out about The Teddy Trust so I contacted them to see what we could do.

"It started with our family collecting any teddies which were in good condition, then we asked friends and family and had collected more than 100 in that short time.

"We drove over to deliver them all on Saturday, and the teddies will then be sent out to children in Greece or Syria where they have possibly been through war or been displaced. They are going to children who have not got a lot and have gone through a lot."

Lorraine said she was so proud of Liam and Charlie, who have enjoyed sorting through and labelling all the teddies.

They originally set a target of 100 teddies to collect, but smashed that as they reached 167.

"We have been making tags for the teddies with little notes saying 'We hope this teddy bear brings you love and happiness'," she explained. "Obviously we have washed them and they all look in really good condition actually.

"The boys have loved it. They were getting so excited when people dropped teddies off. We went to charity shops and they bought a few more with their pocket money. It has just made them think about other children less fortunate than them.

"We were very lucky to meet the founder of The Teddy Trust, Ellie Targett when we delivered the teddies and she explained to Liam and Charlie about where the teddies are shipped and how much they mean to the children receiving them.

"I am so proud of the boys for doing this. We have been overwhelmed by the support from our lovely friends and family who donated lots of the teddies. We couldn't have done this without them."

Visit teddytrust.org.uk to find out more about the charity.