CHILDREN at Broughton Primary School picked up their favourite colouring pens to make Christmas cards for soldiers serving in Afghanistan over the holiday season.

All 78 children at the school, six of whom have a parent serving in the Army, made Christmas cards for the troops to spread a little festive cheer.

Katie Middleton, aged eight, said: “Some of the soldiers don’t have families so might not get any Christmas cards.

“Christmas cards cheer you up so we wanted to send them to the soldiers.”

The idea came from mum-of-five Tina Reddy, whose husband Cpl Andy Reddy has recently returned from a sixmonth tour of Afghanistan.

“Andy is home now, but I have friends whose husbands are there and we have friends currently deployed, so it seemed nice to send cards to those who don’t have children and won’t get a hand-made card for Christmas,” said Tina.

“So I approached the school, who were really keen to get involved.

“Children love doing things like this, especially when it is for something important.”

The children wrote messages from themselves and the school in the cards before they were posted to Afghanistan to be sent to soldiers across Helmand.

Neil Hardy, Broughton’s head teacher, said: “We have never done anything like this before, but I think it helps the children on a wider geographical basis understand things that are going on.

“It has been a good opportunity to show that we understand that at Christmas not everybody is going to be home eating Christmas dinner with their family.

“And the children loved the idea when we suggested it to them.

“They were all keen to take part and bring that bit of happiness.”