A CHARITY that collects soft toys from across the UK to send to children who are living with the effects of war or sexual abuse in 15 countries, have passed the 100,000 milestone.

Volunteers at the Teddy Trust, based in Leominster, are currently trying to collect 10,000 teddy bears to send to children in Syria, and it could be the only possession they have.

The charity's founder Ellie Somme said the charity need a further 4,000 soft toys to reach their target.

"This will be our fourth shipment to them over the past four years and will take the total teddies sent out since we began to over 100,000 which is quite a milestone for us," she said.

"We work directly with other agencies including Rotary in South Africa and the Syria Relief and Development organisation in Syria.

"This is the only thing that these children have and so we try to make every teddy we send extra special."

Any donations should be clean and in good condition, but snakes, monsters, dolls or pigs are not accepted.

For more information visit teddytrust.org.uk.