Olive Low, eight, has put her love of baking with her aunty Laura O’Connor to good use – selling cookies to buy presents for children in hospital this festive season.

Olive, who baked 342 cookies with Laura, raising over £1,000, said: “I thought that children in hospital over Christmas don’t get to play with toys so I came up with the idea of baking cookies.

“I enjoy baking when I visit my auntie Laura’s house as she makes it fun with lots of glitter and sparkles. I really loved getting to choose all the toys to donate and was excited to give them to the hospital.”

As well as selling cookies to friends and family, Olive saw the orders roll in after her dad posted about her idea on Instagram.

Olive, of Chelmsford, and Laura, donated four large sacks full of toys to the King George and Queen’s Hospitals Charity on Tuesday 30 November.

They were presented to Chantel Taylor, play specialist, and Davina Yeomans, play worker, pictured below with Olive, to hand out to children on our wards this Christmas.