NORTH Durham MP Kevan Jones has backed an appeal for shoppers to help make Christmas brighter for the less fortunate.

Customers at Tesco branches in the constituency were invited to donate food in store as part of the biggest food collection in the country.

Tesco teamed up with foodbanks charity the Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity FareShare to hold the third Neighbourhood Food Collection.and Mr Jones joined volunteers collecting at the Annfield Plain store.

Customers were given a special shopping list and asked to pick up an item of food to donate to the appeal at the end of their shop.

A spokesman for the store said: “In the run up to Christmas we wanted to do our bit to feed those in need and the volunteers we had in the store from the two charities were fantastic. Our customers were incredibly generous and I would like to thank them all for their support.”

Mr Jones said: “I was very pleased to be able to join the volunteers running the food collection. By simply adding one or two basic extra items to their shopping baskets and then donating them to the collection, shoppers can help make a real difference to people in need at what can be a very difficult time of year.”