Nearly 400 chocolate eggs and Easter treats were donated to unwell children by Greater Anglia staff and customers, including those at Stansted Mountfitchet and Bishop's Stortford stations.

The donations, which included Lindt bunnies, Haribo sweets, 'worry worm' comfort toys, activity kits and books, were give to staff working on the children's ward and paediatric emergency department at Harlow's Princess Alexandra Hospital on Wednesday, April 5.

Customers and staff dropped off the donations at ticket offices in Bishop's Stortford, Stansted Mountfitchet, Sawbridgeworth, Harlow Mill and Harlow Town stations between Monday, February 27 and Sunday, April 2.

Dunmow Broadcast: Simon Pope and Michael King of Greater Anglia with all the eggs and treats before the donationSimon Pope and Michael King of Greater Anglia with all the eggs and treats before the donation (Image: Greater Anglia)

The donation scheme was first started in 2020 by Michael King, who works as a relief ticket office clerk at Sawbridgeworth and Stansted Mountfitchet stations.

He said: "Our customers and staff are always very eager to help wherever they can for such a good cause – the past few weeks have been absolutely amazing, seeing the eggs and other donations piling up at our ticket offices ready for delivery.

"To know that we handed over almost 400 eggs and treats along with all the other activity kits and toys is nothing short of astounding.

"The delivery should hopefully put a smile on unwell children’s faces to make their Easter and weeks beyond a little happier."

Residents of the Waggoners Court independent living retirement housing development in Bishop's Stortford also donated an extra box of eggs.

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Helen Weaving, children’s ward manager at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: "There is a lot of time and effort that goes into organising this collection - a very big thank you to Michael and the rest of the Greater Anglia team.

"The delivery certainly brightened the day for young people in our care on Dolphin Ward and at our children’s emergency department.

"There are too many to eat in one day, so we will be keeping them safe and handing them out to young people in our care over the coming weeks to give them an extra Easter treat."

In 2020 a total of 120 eggs and treats were collected and given to foodbanks due to hospital covid restrictions, while 252 were collected in 2022.