A 10-year-old girl has decided to give some of her toys away to children who may not receive gifts this Christmas.

Ellie Godwin, from Bicester, does not want to see children go without opening anything on Christmas Day this year, especially after the hardship that the pandemic has brought to families.

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She wanted to give her two unicorns away which she was gifted last year, so her mum Libby put out an appeal on Facebook.

Ellie said: “Why I wanted to give them away is because last year when I opened the present it brought a lovely excitement, but this year because of Covid and people that can’t afford presents I thought it would be really nice to give that excitement to someone else.”

Bicester Advertiser: Ellie Godwin and her mum Libby, from Bicester. Picture submitted by family.Ellie Godwin and her mum Libby, from Bicester. Picture submitted by family.

She has chosen to give her unicorns to a family in Bicester.

Her mum says the kind gesture is something that she has done before.

Ms Godwin said: “Ellie has always loved the idea of passing her clothes/toys on to other children. Last year she donated half of her book shelf along with many of her toys when she found out my mum’s school - The Marsh in High Wycombe - were having a fundraiser to support families who were facing hardship.

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“Ellie hates the thought of children being unhappy - like most of us. She is just a normal kind-hearted little girl who absolutely loves Christmas and everything that comes with it.

“She just wanted another family to have a good day as well.”

Bicester residents have praised Ellie for her thoughtfulness.

Lee-Ann Mackay commented: “How lovely, some other little girl will be thrilled to have that on Christmas morning.”

Norma Fellows said: “What a thoughtful kind little girl. Someone will be overjoyed.”

More than a quarter of children in Oxford were already living in poverty before the coronavirus pandemic started – and the figure may well have grown.

Data collated by the End Child Poverty Coalition reveals that, in the run-up to March 2020, a total of 7,061 children were living in families that were below the breadline in Oxford.

The pandemic will mean families will struggle more than ever with providing gifts at Christmas.

Some charities are appealing for toys including The Salvation Army which is pressing ahead to help the neediest families in Oxford.

Between December 3 to December 12 the charity will be collecting donations of toys for children.

It will be collecting items from Hope Vineyard Church Oxford, in Templars Square.

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All toys will be quarantined to make sure they are Covid safe and distribution is being managed in a socially-distanced, risk-reducing way.

Last year’s donations meant more than 260 families had toys for Christmas day.

For more information, go to www.salvationarmy.org.uk/oxford.