A KNUTSFORD-based charity has received a major boost.

Manchester-based Red Sea Pedestrians, a charity which raises funds for organisations throughout the region, celebrated its 10th anniversary by donating £10,000 to The Toy Appeal.

The Toy Appeal is a charity which provides a sack of toys at Christmas to children living in poverty, and has been running since 2013.

To date, the charity has made Christmas Day very special for 11,000 children across the north west.

The donation will allow the charity to buy a host of toys for deprived children, and Chris Drake, who co-founded the charity with his wife, Dee, said: “We are overwhelmed; it will make such a difference to our 2019 campaign, where we will support 5,000 children.

“Toys are distributed all around the north west, this is our seventh year of doing this, we started off helping out 500 children and now we help 5,000 children each year.”

Antony Wagman, chairman of trustees of Red Sea Pedestrians, said: “There is no better way to celebrate the Red Sea Pedestrians’ significant milestone than to provide vital support for other local charities.

“Each year we receive tremendous support and generosity from our supporters, it is greatly appreciated and without their help and donations, we wouldn’t be able to assist fellow charities across the north west.

“For our 10th anniversary we opted to do something different and help 10 organisations from across the region.

“It brings a smile to my face knowing that we’ve made significant donations to 10 charities, each of which is such a worthy cause.”

The anniversary presentation was held at Stocktons in Manchester, as owner Breck Stockton is also a trustee of the charity.