A PACKAGING firm from Horndean has been praised for backing a charity’s bid to deliver essential supplies to stricken families in war-torn Syria.

The season of goodwill shows no sign of ending in the village as bosses at A&A Packaging have donated 80 empty boxes to the Don’t Hate, Donate campaign.

Their donation will make a huge difference as the boxes have been filled with vital supplies that will be given to people who have escaped Aleppo and other ravaged parts of the country.

The firm, based on Westfield Industrial Estate, decided to help after being contacted out of the blue by a campaigner a few days before Christmas.

“We sorted them out with 80 boxes and she gave us a good review on Twitter,” said A&A Packaging shareholder, Hugh Knight.

“We do give to charities every now and then on an ad hoc basis but we thought we should give them a hand. It’s a very good cause.”

The items within have all been donated by well-wishers with collections taking place between 10am and 9pm every Wednesday and Sunday at Venture Tower, Fratton Road, Portsmouth.

Support for the refugee support group has been huge with volunteers filling a container’s worth of donations in a couple of hours during the festive period.

At least one 26-tonne container of donated goods will be shipped out shortly from Southampton to Turkey, before being loaded on a truck and delivered to affected parts of Syria.

Chantelle Burton, Don’t Hate, Donate trustee, thanked A&A for their generosity and hopes that other firms around the East Hampshire, Havant and Winchester districts will follow their lead.

She said: “We’ve already sent over 150 tonnes of aid as we’ve been running for the past year and a half. But we’re still sorting aid and it keeps on coming in.

“I think one of the reasons our appeal has been so popular is the fact that Syria and Aleppo has been in the news so much recently and it seems a helpless and hopeless situation.

“I put out a piece saying ‘this is what we need’ a little while ago and when you see those refugee camps in Aleppo you see there’s a direct link between us and them.

“There isn’t that link if you send a direct debit while this is much more personal.”

For more details and to donate visit Venture Tower on the aforementioned dates or look for Don’t Hate, Donate on Facebook or Twitter.