LIFE Church Barnton is preparing to deliver 100 shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to some of the most vulnerable children in Europe next month.

For more than 20 years the church has been supporting youngsters in some of the poorest areas of Romania.

One of the its projects is the annual winter delivery appeal, which sees children receive boxes filled with gifts that have been sponsored by people in the UK.

Andy Webb, from Life Church, saw first hand the difference the gifts made to children in Iasi last year, and is preparing to take this year's gifts to Vaslui.

He told the Guardian: "It's one of the poorest areas in Europe, they have no access to electricity, gas, mains water or mains sewage. It's like how England was more than 100 years ago.

"We fill the shoeboxes full of gifts, for boys or girls, at a cost of £2 each to cover the cost of transport.

"Then we go out to Vaslui to deliver the boxes in December, where we hand them over to the company which can make sure they go to the most vulnerable children who need them, and we will be able to see that they are going to the right people ourselves."

The church also supplies blankets for Romanian children at Christmas, which can be sponsored for £2.

It's part of the church's wider support programme, which as seen it work specifically to help children with special educational needs or deaf children in Romania since 2011.

Last week, the church took a group of 16 to 18-year-olds to Bucharest to volunteer at a deaf school to help renovate therapy rooms and classrooms - which costs between £200 and £500.

It will be launching a fundraising appeal for the school later this month to help fund sports equipment and iPads for the 65 children at the school, while it will continue to renovate school spaces during future visits to Bucharest.

To find out more about Life Church visit facebook.com/lifechurchbarnton