THE captain of a luxury Southampton cruise ship is to give Father Christmas a hand by delivering some very special presents to the children of a Caribbean island.

Captain Rory Smith, master of the 69,153-ton Oriana, leaves Southampton Docks next Monday on a mission to take more than 2,000 books from Hampshire to the youngsters of St Lucia together with a bumper cheque to help boost the island's library facilities for children.

Some of the country's top children's authors, including the creator of the Harry Potter best-sellers, JK Rowling, have backed the initiative that is the brainchild of Anne Marley, the county's acting assistant county librarian.

On a cruise earlier this year Anne called in at St Lucia and visited the Carnegie library in Castries. The building was magnificent but Anne was concerned by the condition of the stock, particularly the children's collection. A librarian in St Lucia said any help would be gratefully received so, once back home Anne set about liaising with authors and publishers to improve books for the island's young readers.

Anne has now obtained more than 2,000 books, worth about £10,000, to donate to St Lucia together with £6,000 cash raised by charity events for the library to increase resources.

Hook-with-Warsash Primary School in Warsash and the Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth generated funds by selling cakes, cookies and drinks. Hook-with-Warsash School, along with other schools in Hampshire, is also being twinned with a school in St Lucia.

Eighty boxes full of books will be loaded on to the P&O Cruises' ship, Oriana in Southampton for the voyage across the Atlantic to St Lucia. It is due to arrive on Friday, December 6.

A P&O spokesman in Southampton said: "We are delighted to be able to help in carrying the books across to St Lucia so the youngsters are able to enjoy some early Christmas presents.''

The call is part of a 21-night cruise to the Caribbean that also takes in Antigua and Barbados.

Hampshire County Council's executive member for recreation and heritage, Councillor John Waddington, said: "We congratulate Anne on her hard work and commitment to improving the quality of life for children in St Lucia.

"Her determination to improve the selection of books at the library has enthused others to take action, and we are pleased to be able to offer our support.

"We hope the children of Castries get hours of pleasure from their new books and we are sure that children from the schools taking part in the twinning exercise will gain a valuable and interesting insight into each others' lives.''