Volunteers have collected mountains of food to give to those going hungry this Christmas.
The team of 13 sixth-formers have so far filled seven crates with food donated at Harlington School, in Pinkwell Lane, Hayes – and they still have a day to go.
They plan to give the items – which include tinned foods, packets and other non-perishables – to Hillingdon Foodbank tomorrow (Friday, December 19).
Co-organiser Rimmy Sidhu, 17, said: “We thought it was really important to support the local community, especially over Christmas, which is a time when people really suffer.”
She added: “I moved up to Hayes last year from Kent and I really wanted to do something to make a difference.”
Miss Sidhu, of Waltham Avenue, Hayes, said she and others had been inspired into action by Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell, who spoke to their politics class about the importance of foodbanks earlier this year.
She co-organised the collection with fellow student Joe Steeples, 17, with guidance from deputy head of sixth form Lotis Bautista and collaborating with Free The Children.
In West London, around 40 people rely on foodbanks every day, according to the latest figures from the Trussell Trust, a charity that runs foodbanks across the country.
Hillingdon Foodbank, which is run by the same organisation, has five foodbanks in Uxbridge, Hayes, Northwood and West Drayton.
