COTTON bags from a Burnham-on-Sea optician proved to be invaluable in transporting shoeboxes to children in Albania.

Specsavers, in High Street, answered an appeal from the West of England Baptists for cotton bags and sent hundreds to help pack shoeboxes for their to Albania.

Sai Rama, store manager, said: “The team are doing an incredible job supporting those less fortunate at Christmas.”

“We are just happy we could provide the cotton bags, which were listed as one of their requirements.”

West of England Baptists are developing a partnership with a small group of churches from the Baptist Union of Albania.

The group supplies and transports Christmas shoeboxes in communities where these churches are working.

Known as a WEBox, the shoeboxes contain self care products, educational items, a bar of chocolate or box of sweets, something to put on such as a hat or scarf and something exciting such as a child’s game or toy.

Sai said the opticians were thrilled to ‘get involved’ in the project.

“No child or family should be forgotten at Christmas and we have no doubt that the gift of a Christmas WEBox will mean the world to many,” Sai said.