AMATEUR footballers with hearts of 'goal-d' have made sure that hundreds of Inverclyde's poorest children won't go without a present this Christmas.

Members of Sunday league side Gourock FC have spent the past month campaigning for local people to donate to their festive toy appeal which has netted almost £3,000 worth of items and cash.

Donation points were set up within Co-op stores across Inverclyde throughout November, allowing local residents to gift items to local kids who otherwise would be waking up to nothing on December 25.

In addition to the toys handed into branches, the design and change department at Virgin Money also made the generous decision to forgo their Christmas night out and use the cash to buy £1,000 of toys for the appeal.

The team handed over their Christmas haul to Children In Poverty Inverclyde this week, as well as over £600 from a GoFundMe campaign which ran in tandem with the wider appeal.

While the bulk of the donations went to Children In Poverty, £250 of baby toys and teddies were given to Child Health Services Inverclyde, which supports young mothers and their tots.

Child Health Services Inverclyde also received a further £150 in cash.

Gourock FC manager Adam Beaton told the Tele that the team had been blown away by the generosity shown by the people of Inverclyde.

He said: "We didn't think this would be as much of a success as it has been.

"It started slowly in November, but it really picked up as we entered December and amount of stuff that was handed in was incredible.

"We're grateful to a lot of people.

"The Whisky Room gave us the space to store the toys and we received cash donations from the Virgin Money Team and the Scottish Welfare Football Association, who gave us £100.

"The bulk of the toys have come from Eldon Street and Shore Street Co-ops, so thank you to all the staff there and in all the other participating branches.

"I have to say a special thank you to Callum Renfrew from the Co-op as he's the man who made the donation points happen locally.

"And, of course, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated. Their kindness will make Christmas that bit more special for a lot of children."