RECORDS look set to tumble for the number of shoeboxes full of festive gifts collected this year for Operation Christmas Child.

Wiltshire organiser Hilary McFall is confident that last year's record of 20,000 boxes will be outstripped as this year's boxes of cheer for children in eastern Europe continue to flow in.

Her confidence is matched by Ursula McKinnon, who is co-ordinating the collection of shoeboxes for the Devizes and Vale of Pewsey areas. She believes the number collected in the area will exceed last year's record 855.

She said on Tuesday: "We've got 400 here now and more are coming in all the time."

Support from area pupils has been particularly good, with ten schools taking part as well as two nurseries, Scotties in Devizes and the Old School Nursery in Great Cheverell.

St Nicholas School in Bromham has joined in with Operation Christmas Child for the first time this year after Tim Heath took over as headteacher. Village co-ordinator Hilary Armstrong said support from elderly members of the Monday Club was as big as ever and she was delighted the school is taking part as well.

"It is wonderful to have the children involved and for them to understand that there are children in the world who are not going to get lots of presents on Christmas morning," she said.

"Mr Heath got them all to think of what they wanted for Christmas and then described the kind of Christmas that children in orphanages in these countries can expect."

The deadline to drop in filled shoeboxes is tomorrow but they can be delivered to Mrs McKinnon's home at 33 Broadleas Road, Devizes between 10am and 4pm from Saturday until the following Saturday, November 24. She can be contacted on (01380) 726746.

Families at St Paul's School, Chippenham, rose to the challenge in the first year the school has collected for Operation Christmas Child.

A spokesman for the 270-pupil primary, where more than 70 boxes have already been collected, said they were thrilled by the huge response.

"We told the children the boxes were intended for other children less fortunate than themselves," she said. "The boxes are still coming in now."

Families with babies and children at the Key Day nurseries in Chippenham and Calne have been similarly generous.

The nurseries first joined the scheme with Operation Easter Child in the spring.

A total of more than 55 Christmas boxes has been gathered. Proprietor Gillian Key said: "All our kids get so much, and if we can provide one other child with a Christmas box that is absolutely brilliant."