A care home worker has campaigned to support a Worcestershire homeless charity over Christmas.

Lucie Haines rallied local businesses and individuals to collect essentials for Maggs Day Centre, a charity assisting those experiencing homelessness.

The campaign, 'A Christmas present for the homeless', saw businesses, including Cooper's Cleans, The Punch Bowl At Worcester and Prince Of Wales in Warndon, come together for a good cause.

Donations included toiletries, food, and clothing to create more than 150 boxes for the homeless.

Lucie Haines, a care assistant at Latimer Court Care Home, said: "I wanted to raise donations for the homeless this year as I went through a personal experience of being at risk of homelessness myself.

"I thought to myself this is how I feel just being at risk of homelessness and how must someone homeless feel.

"I am also aware of someone who uses Maggs Day Centre and has heard about their work in the past.

"I am truly grateful for every donation I have received so thank you.”

Latimer Court Care Home and Barbourne Ex Services Club served as collection points for the donations.

The collected items were then delivered to the charity's Clothing Project, which caters to the immediate needs of first-time rough sleepers and those who have found housing.

Melissa Blewitt, marketing and relations officer at Maggs Day Centre, said: "The team at Maggs are amazed by Lucie’s hard work on securing donations for us and her fantastic work will mean that our services will be stocked for our service users to benefit from for a long period.

" The number of rough sleepers has doubled in the last few months, so now more than ever we are feeling the demand to ensure that our service users have access to the best possible service we can provide to make their current living situation more bearable.

"Thank you Lucie for thinking of Maggs and helping us bring cheer to the homeless this Christmas!"

The charity operates across Worcestershire and has two day centres in Worcester and Malvern, along with four temporary accommodation properties for rough sleepers.