SANTA and an army of elves descended on the children’s wards at the Royal Gwent Hospital on Sunday laden with sacks of toys, most thanks to a generous donation from Chepstow and District Round Table.

Meeting youngsters who need to spend this Christmas in hospital proved ‘a sobering and humbling experience’ for all those involved and even saw Santa shed a sneaky tear.

Chepstow Round Table had teamed up with Cwmbran All-Stars Scooter Club to bring a sprinkling of stardust to the occasion.

The project was the brainchild of All-Stars’ Graham Whittington and Les Ash, but in order to collect enough gifts Graham called on his friend Kevin Jordan, a past chairman of Chepstow and District Round Table, for help.

Kevin explained what was needed to Chepstow Round Table, who agreed to donate £350. Local businessman Robert Phelps of Bethany Residential Home, a Round Tabler himself, added a further £200. And members also offered the services of their own ‘Santa’ and gang of ‘elves’ to support the All-Stars on their mission.

Sunday started off with the All-Stars meeting for breakfast then riding as a troop of elves to a ‘photo shoot’ before teaming up with Santa Claus (James Watts of Chepstow Round Table), Inflatable Elf (Kevin Jordan) and Naughty Elf (Robert Phelps).

After a briefing, the army of volunteers trudged towards the children’s wards with Santa, armed with sacks of gifts ranging from baby’s toys to drones and remote-controlled cars for the teens.

“All the children and even their siblings received some amazing gifts,” said Kevin. “Many of the parents were in complete disbelief. One young mum said to me ‘We were really upset. We didn’t think we would be able to see Santa Claus this year, but he came to us instead’.

“It wasn’t the spoken appreciation that hit us. It was the unspoken. Looks of gratitude, beaming smiles, teary eyes, huge hugs...

“When we finished on the main children’s wards there were still some gifts left so Santa and the elves headed to the Children’s Assessment Unit. As we burst through the waiting room doors the room lit up with beaming smiles.”

Any remaining toys were left with hospital staff to present to new arrivals on the wards.

Kevin said the way Les, Graham and the rest of the All-Stars co-ordinated the day was ‘perfect’. “It was our absolute pleasure to be able to both donate toys, time, Santa and Elves. When a few organisations work together like this in such a coordinated way what you can achieve is amazing.

“This is exactly the reason organisations like Round Table exist, to support deserving local good causes.”