CHILDREN affected by domestic violence and neglect in Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch will be given teddy bears by a charity dedicated to supporting the area's most vulnerable families.

Trustees at Ashley's Birthday Bank have been given a grant from the Talbot Village Trust to buy 300 'Ashley bears' for youngsters.

Anna Selby, one of three women responsible for running the charity, said: "He will be someone for them to hug and talk to when they're feeling low and scared.

"This is something we've wanted to do for a long time now, so we're really pleased.

"They're very cute indeed and we hope they'll make a difference to children who need them."

Ashley's Birthday Bank, a Christchurch-based organisation, launched in 2014 and was registered as a charity the following year. Last month, trustee Danielle Turner visited the Daily Echo offices in Richmond Hill to collect a cheque for £3,900 from editor Andy Martin on behalf of the Gannett Foundation.

The charity provides children living in poverty with Christmas and birthday presents. In addition, it provides a crisis service for families in need.

Volunteers may go food shopping for a family without enough money to do so, buy toiletries for young carers who have had to go without, or provide furniture for victims of domestic violence when they move out of refuges.

The charity's six volunteers already take up to five referrals a day from police, social services, refuges and schools.

In recent months, the charity has worked with two siblings affected by sexual abuse, an eight-year-old child caring for a mother with severe mental health problems, the children of parents with drug addictions and young siblings caring for parents with terminal cancer.

Trustees had planned to take a break over Christmas. However, on December 23, they were told of a family who had little more than a packet of dried pasta in the house.

"We went straight out to do a food shop for them," Anna said.

"We'll do everything we can to help."

Trustees say they will support families in any way they can.

Anna said: "We'll buy nappies for babies or help furnish a house. We'll also work with young mums who may not know how to be parents because they've not had a stable upbringing themselves.

"You might see someone who just doesn't know how to love their baby. We can give them support and help."

Businesses including Lush and Wave 105 support the charity.

"We're lucky to have their help," Anna said.

"We also have a very strong support network of people who donate items to us. We can ask for clothes for an eight-year-old boy and we're inundated with offers of help from our supporters on social media.

"It means we can work with people who have a range of needs.

"It might be that parents or carers have lost jobs, or that parents have split up, or that their benefits have changed, or it might be that someone is struggling with addiction or domestic violence.

"We'll do our best to support them all."