AN opticians' Christmas appeal inspired by a little boy who died last year has seen countless gifts donated to children in hospital.

William Fenton, age six from Callands, died in December 2019 at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

The youngster was born with a rare form of Hirschsprung's disease and had been on the transplant register for four months prior to his death, waiting for a new bowel, liver and stomach.

AH Mertons - Valli Opticians in Birchwood Shopping Centre has spent the past five weeks supporting the charity which William's parents set up in their son's memory - William's Gift.

The charity helps bring a smile to children and families in hospital at a difficult time, through toys or gifts for children, plus care packages for parents.

Taking to social media, the team from William's Gift explained: "We were contacted a few months ago by James Houlihan from AH Mertons who was interested in helping the charity.

"His idea was to set up a Christmas appeal to support children in hospital over the Christmas period.

"He went on to launch William's Christmas Smile Appeal.

"The opticians provided their shop front as a drop off point for gifts and an Amazon wishlist was set up to make it easier for those who wished to donate but couldn't get to Birchwood Centre.

"As you can see from the photos, the appeal was a huge success and we are so grateful to the people of Birchwood and beyond for all their generous donations!

"A big thank you to James and the team at the opticians for all their support.

"This will make a huge difference to children and their families in hospital."

James Houlihan added: "The AH Mertons team would like to say a huge thank you for the kind generosity given over the last five weeks from the customers and staff of Birchwood Shopping Centre, the community of Warrington and further afield, our incredible loyal patients, our friends and colleagues of BNI Focus and our teams in Valli Opticians Group.

"Every single one of you will have put a smile on the face of a child in hospital this Christmas!

"William's Gift has now collected all your gifts from us and will be delivering them this week to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and the children's ward at Warrington Hospital."

If you would like to make a donation to the charity, visit justgiving.com/williamsgift.