CHILDREN at one of the region's hospitals received a double helping of Christmas cheer yesterday.

In the morning, stars of Durham Gala Theatre's panto, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, dropped by to meet the children in Treetops Children's Unit of the University Hospital of North Durham.

Snow White, played by Anna Flowers, was joined by cast members from the Gala pantomime and spent more than an hour on the ward with the children.

Among them was nine-year-old Heather Scholes, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham,who was recovering after a road accident in her home town the previous night, although the good news was that she would be home in time for Christmas.

Angela Trainor, a nursery nurse on the unit, said: "The children were so excited about meeting the pantomime characters - it will really make their Christmas."

In the afternoon, football stars from Sunderland AFC, played Santa by dropping by to meet the youngsters and hand out presents.

Manager Mick McCarthy gave nine of his Stadium of Light players time off from their hectic training schedule ahead of their Boxing Day game against Leeds United to visit children at Durham and also Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Club captain Gary Breen said: "The lads really do look forward to visiting the hospitals and meeting the youngsters - it's great to see the smiles on the children's faces when we hand out gifts.

"Being in hospital is never fun, especially for children and even less so at Christmas- time so, hopefully, our visits will help cheer up the youngsters and their families."