A SLEIGH filled with presents will stop in Oxford this month to spread Christmas cheer to teenage and young adult cancer patients at the city's hospitals.

Organised by the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, all gifts are wrapped by volunteers and then delivered to around 500 young people being treated nationwide.

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Last year 1,281 gifts were handed out to patients across the country and the charity are hoping to do the same again this year.

Over the coming weeks the Laura Crane sleigh will travel from Aberdeen down to Plymouth and across to Dublin and Belfast - covering approximately 5,970 miles.

Oxford Mail:

Pam Thornes, charity manager at The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust

Young people at the John Radcliffe Hospital and Churchill Hospital will be among those receiving a bundle of gifts from the charity including an Amazon voucher, chocolates and a distraction therapy game. They will also receive more personal gifts from a list put together by Sarah Dransfield, ambassador for the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, who received gifts herself as a teenage cancer patient.

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Speaking about how the campaign started, Pam Thornes, charity manager at cancer trust, said: “We became aware that because teenagers are often treated on adult wards they were missing out on any special surprises at Christmas and certainly weren’t receiving any gifts.

"All are waking up on Christmas morning in a hospital bed, away from the comfort of home and loved ones. Every child, however, deserves to wake up to a special gift at Christmas."

To donate to this year's 'Fuel the Sleigh' campaign visit lauracranetrust.org.