THERE were beaming smiles on the faces of patients in the children's ward at Whiston when members of a community centre delivered a bumper donation of toys.

The kind gesture came from the Iman Trust Community Centre, in Sutton.

Doctors at the hospital, Mr Usama Munir and Dr Abubaker Elbadri, along with members of the Islamic community centre, organised the gift to mark Eid, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

It includes about 45 toys which were given to patients, whose ages ranged from a few months old to teenagers. The collections included rattles, soft toys, action figures, doll sets, masks and gadgets.

It is a further goodwill move by the centre, who have previously made donations to the St Helens food bank, as well as other local charities.

“The members of the community centre were extremely keen to donate to the children at the hospital,” said Mr Munir who, along with Dr Elbadri and other Whiston staff, are members off the centre.

“Eid is an important time in the Muslim calendar and we wanted to give the gifts out to the children and bring happiness those who are feeling unwell at this time.”

The Iman community centre aims to focus on activities that serve and benefit the wider community and common good.

Mr Munir added: "In June the centre held an event where we handed over more than 300 kilograms of food to St Helens Foodbank."

The Iman Trust keen to reach out to communities across the borough.As well as their community based projects, members of the centre also visit local schools.

They are keen to promote inter-faith discussions among students and spread a greater understanding of the Iman Trust’s work and ethos.