THE young orphan opened his shoebox of presents and pulled out a bar of chocolate - something he had never seen before.

However, instead of eating it, he broke it up into squares and ran after the strangers who had given it to him, insisting on sharing it with them.

The reason - it was the first time in his life he had a gift to give to someone else.

The touching gesture was one of many emotional scenes experienced by Sandra Reynolds, who presided over the delivery in Croatia of more than 9,000 shoeboxes from school pupils in County Durham. Sandra, of Operation Christmas Child, run by Samaritans Purse International, said: "It was a sad and moving experience.

"Nothing prepared me for the way the boxes were received by the children, who were so grateful."

Sandra's journey took her to the city of Vukovar, which was all but razed to the ground by Serbs during the civil war.

Visiting schools, orphanages, hospitals and young offenders' institutions, she found a city still scarred by its experiences.

Sandra, from Consett, County Durham, said: "The orphanages were clean and warm, but there was very little for the children.

"One eight-year-old boy took me to his room, where his only toys were a 6in Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

"When he opened his box, he could not believe his eyes. The expression on his face was incredible.

"Another boy of his age, after playing with the toys in his box, carefully packed them away again and gave the box back, thinking it was somebody else's turn. I had to explain through an interpreter that it was his to keep."

Sandra added: "I felt emotionally drained by the experience after the journey.

"The most rewarding thing was seeing first-hand how important this simple shoebox appeal is to other people. It reflects, perhaps, the true meaning of Christmas."

Preparations are under way for next year's appeal. Anyone who would like to help can contact (01207) 506385