A MALVERN grandmother will be giving up Christmas with her family this year to play Santa Claus thousands of miles away.

Christabell Wilson will be helping to deliver toys and food hampers to needy children in Romania.

She will be working as a volunteer with the Smiles Foundation, a Christian charity that works with children and families in some of the poorest parts of the world.

"The children we'll be visiting have so little," she Christabell. "It'll be lovely to share the real meaning of Christmas with them."

Flying to Romania will be a challenge in itself for Christabell, who after being widowed four years ago found going anywhere alone frightening.

"It sounds daft but I was even nervous of catching a bus into town," she said.

Christabell was persuaded to help with the Christmas trip by her daughter Dawn, who works as an administrator for Smiles.

"In the past, the charity has been involved in building schools, things I couldn't help with," she said.

"But I can help with taking toys and food parcels. It's a wonderful way to show love."

Christabell said the families in Oradea, in north-west Romania, were desperately poor.

She described how her daughter had been moved by the excitement that a simple tube of Smarties could bring and had seen families forced to make a choice between buying life-saving drugs for one child or food for their other children.

"I hope I'll be able to cope," said Christabell. "Most of these people don't even have proper plumbing or electricity, let alone the luxuries we take for granted."

While in Romania, Christabell is hoping to visit a house in Brusturi. She and her family sponsor the house in memory of her husband John to provide a home for a homeless family.

The Smiles Foundation buys all the food and toys for its Christmas deliveries in Romania, which supports the local economy.

The team of volunteers will fly out on December 23. They hope to deliver 1,000 sacks before they return on December 30.

Anyone wanting to support the Smiles Foundation and help pay for the food and toys, should contact Christabell on 01684 572333.