TWO friends who were looking for something to do during the summer holidays ended up making a concerted effort in aid of a charity appeal.

Jenna Meek, 11, and 14-year-old Steffi Hendriksen, live in the same street in Bishop Auckland and have been friends for several years.

During the summer they decided to look for something they could do to help a charity and discovered the perfect cause on the Internet.

Operation Christmas Child, organised by the Samaritan's Purse group, encourages people to fill shoe boxes with gifts that can be sent to less fortunate children around the world.

Jenna, who attends St John's RC Comprehensive School, Bishop Auckland, and Steffi, who goes to Polam Hall School, Darlington, collected numerous pens and pencils, toys, sweets and other items to make up more than 40 shoe boxes.

Each box has to have £2 in cash inside, so they started a collection among neighbours and friends.

People from their street and nearby Linford Court gave generously to help them reach the total they needed.

Jenna's father Shaun Meek said: "They got a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of it. It took on a momentum of its own."

The boxes will be collected for distribution around the world.

Anyone who wants to get involved can contact Samaritan's Purse on 0870 0112002.