For the last month, thousands of people employed at Portsmouth Naval Base - led by staff from BAE Systems - have been busy donating food and toiletries.

They have ended up with hundreds of tins of soup and beans, packets of cereal, biscuits and crisps and dozens of loo rolls and toothpaste.
The collection has been given away to the Salvation Army.

Aurelio Bell, a material co-ordinator for BAE Systems - formerly known as BVT - spear-headed the initiative, encouraging fellow workmates to bring in food and toiletry supplies to make up the much-needed parcels for the Salvation Army during what is typically the charity's busiest time of the year.

Mr Bello, who is originally from Spain, said: 'We wanted to do something for charity - for those people who are less fortunate than us.

'This time of year can be a very unhappy time for people who are homeless or can't afford basic things so we're just trying to make any difference we can.

'With 3,000 workers at the base, we were hoping for a lot of food but to get as much as we did was absolutely fantastic.'

Reflecting the spread of the workforce at Portsmouth Naval Base, half the parcels will go to the Salvation Army's Haven Community Centre in Portsmouth, while the remainder will be shipped to the charity's H20 project in Southampton.

The parcels will be given to homeless and vulnerable Hampshire residents over the Christmas and New Year period.

Adrian Clee, community programme director for the Salvation Army in Portsmouth arrived at the base to pick up all the boxes and load them in to a van with the help of Mr Bello and Barry Kierstenson, a logistics handler for BAE Systems.

Mr Clee said: 'It's a huge help to us and it's going to help a lot of families and homeless people in the New Year.

'I can't thank all the staff here enough for donating all the goods.'