A KIND-HEARTED mother’s decision to donate her family’s unwanted shoes to others has gone from strength to strength.

Mother-of-two Sue Freear decided to donate all her children’s old shoes to the charity, Sal’s Shoes.

After friends and families got involved, she found herself loading 245 pairs into the back of her car.

The shoes are heading for a charity which is dedicated to giving underprivileged children their first pair of shoes.

The shoe donations came from across Earls Colne, Colne Engaine and Halstead and collection organiser Sue was overwhelmed by stacks of shoes.

Sue, 39, of De Vere Road, Earls Colne, who works as a personal trainer, said: “Every year, my friends and I do something for charity, whether that be a sponsored run or bike ride.

“So this year I was having a look around to see what we could do and this popped up.

“I thought it was very doable.

“We have so many old shoes at home and it is a bit of a waste really so I thought this was a great way that we could give something back and do something for charity.”

Sue added: “If you think about it, it is actually a little bit vulgar how many shoes we all go through when some people have none.

“To start with I just collected all the shoes in our house, then got family and friends involved.

“Once I put it on Facebook, it really started to gather pace and before I knew it I was loading almost 250 pairs of shoes into the back of the car.

“In the end, people were just coming and dropping them off overnight. “I would get up in the morning and there would be piles of shoes at the front door.”

The little-known charity Sal’s Shoes has now donated more than 100,000 pairs of shoes in less than three years.

CJ Bowry launched Sal’s Shoes in 2014 after struggling to find a charity which would accept her son’s, Sal, shoes.

Since then the charity has grown at a rapid pace, earning a number of high-profile accolades along the way.

To find out more about the charity, visit www.salsshoes.com.

Sue is planning another donation to Sal’s Shoes in the coming months.

Anyone who wishes to contribute can contact Sue on suefreear@hotmail.co.uk