Kind-hearted Amy Bates has been sharing the Christmas spirit by donating a 6ft cuddly toy to a children's hospice.

Amy, ten, won the giant toy Simba in Asda Colchester's raffle, held recently to raise money for the BBC appeal Children in Need.

But Amy thought the toy would be too big for her home in West Bergholt and decided to donate Simba to the East Anglia Children's Hospice, in Cambridge.

Kathy French, events co-ordinator at the store, said: "I think it is fantastic. There are not many ten-year-olds to give up something. It is really unselfish of Amy. A lot of children will benefit from her actions."

Published Wednesday December 17, 2003

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