Soldiers' summer shoeboxes sought

A summer shoebox appeal to help troops in Afghanistan with essentials is being issued across Staffordshire.

A soldier's mother wants donations to put into festive shoeboxes to be sent to British personnel in the war-torn country.

The collection is being held at Asda, Ventura Park, Tamworth from 9am on June 13 and 14. Jackie Brown, of Polesworth, whose son is a staff sergeant in the army and served in Afghanistan in 2003, along with her family normally organise these appeals at Christmas.

They decided to hold a second collection this year because troops swapped over on their six-month tours of duty and, she explained, are in just as much need of shoeboxes full of items such as sweets and shower gel as their colleagues were at Christmas.

She hopes to get enough items to fill boxes for hundreds of personnel.

Mrs Brown said: "They have changed over now, the lot that were there over there at Christmas came back home at the end of March and we have got a new lot there now who will be there until September.

"Things haven't changed. They haven't changed the outposts, just the soldiers and it would be nice if they could receive a shoebox to help them out."

Items which are suitable are sweets, shower gel and creams as well as small tubes of toothpaste, cotton underpants, small crossword books, packs of cards, wipes, lip balm, t-shirts and noodles. Items not suitable are chocolate, alcohol, aerosols or glass. Boxes need to be under 2kg in weight.

More than 270 shoeboxes full of presents donated by people across the county in December went to British outposts and in 2003, the first troops' first Christmas, 335 boxes were collected.