HE is Southampton's very own Father Christmas. Charity boss Chris Davis has handed out nearly 10,000 gifts to some of the poorest children.

It means 1,500 youngsters living in poverty almost unimaginable in affluent Hampshire will be waking up tomorrow to an unexpected clutch of presents.

The mammoth task is carried out on a budget of just £12.50 per child - but it's set to transform Christmas for hundreds of families.

Churches, businesses and schools across the region have donated toys to Christian charity SCRATCH (Southampton City and Region Action to Combat Hardship).

With the help of 70 volunteers, a Millbrook church and an army of trucks, the toys have been sorted into more than a thousand boxes of six to eight gifts and delivered to families across Hampshire.

"Imagine waking up on Christmas Day and Mum tells her children she doesn't have any presents for them," said father-of-four Chris.

"This is designed so parents will have something to give to their children. We give them the box of presents, they wrap the gifts and put them under the tree.

"Mums and dads without much money are under huge pressure over Christmas. It's about making Christmas complete for those families."

He added that the £18,000 total cost worked out at just £12.50 per child - a small price to pay for the magical smile of a child on Christmas morning.

But for SCRATCH, this year's toy appeal is all the more special.

Just three months ago, the charity came close to collapse after a £40,000 hole emerged in the budget.

The organisation was close to folding - and Chris was forced to make an urgent appeal to for help, blaming red tape for delaying grants of £500,000.

Leading clergyman the Rev Ian Johnson spent £10,000 of church funds to prop up the cash-strapped organisation.

Chris, who lives in Green Lane, Shirley, and co-ordinated the appeal with the help of his wife Annette, said: "We still have a financial problem. It's an ongoing issue that we're working very hard on, and there are partnerships that are beginning to come together.

"But despite all that, we have still achieved this - and it's been brilliant this year."