A hospital charity has been given £2,250 by independent department store Barkers, after staff and customers made sure Christmas was all wrapped up.

Barkers stores in Northallerton, which are run by the Barker family, offered a complimentary wrapping service over Christmas, inviting customers to make donations to the Our Hospitals Charity which supports the town's Friarage Hospital and James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Teams at the town centre and Home stores in Northallerton offered the wrapping service throughout November and December, and hosted Father Christmas every Saturday throughout December, with donations to the hospitals charity gratefully received.

Ben Murphy, head of Our Hospitals Charity at the Friarage, said: “We are so grateful for the continued support of Barkers and for all their fundraising throughout last year. We are blown over by the money raised during the Christmas period. The generosity of our local community never ceases to amaze me and we are eternally grateful.

“All the money raised throughout last year will go to the Friarage Hospital to help our local NHS go further and will make such a huge difference to both staff and patients for years to come."

A spokesperson for Barkers said: “We’re so thankful to all of our incredibly generous customers for their ongoing support with our fundraising and for their loyalty in these difficult times.”

Barkers Department Store and Barkers Home offer a complimentary gift wrapping service all year round, and are continuing to support the Our Hospitals Charity with fundraising pots at most till points across the stores.

The charity raises money to help the NHS offer extra services at the Friarage Hospital, and through local community health services across Hambleton and Richmondshire.