A local mental health charity is in urgent need of funds to continue helping vulnerable people in North Ayrshire.

The Little Box of Distractions provides those suffering from mental distress with packages containing items to distract them from troubled thoughts and impulses.

The charity has seen an increase in demand for the boxes over the last year, particularly among young people and teenagers. But despite the rise in interest, the charity raised £1,971.60 less in 2018 than the previous year and is in desperate need of donations.

Kerry Elliot, manager at The Little of Box of Distractions, said: “Sadly we were nearly £2,000 down on last year’s takings and yet our box requests have more or less doubled.

“We sent 450 boxes and 49 per cent of these were to people in North Ayrshire. The stats have shown that North Ayrshire really needs this support.

“We have helped people who have children with ADHD or autism, people with dementia, people that self-harm, people with borderline personality disorder or are bipolar – lots of people with different mental health issues.

“We need people in North Ayrshire to help us continue to provide this service especially for the fact that under 16s is one of the biggest percentage we’ve got. Under 16s don’t have any money that they can donate to say, ‘thanks very much for the box’. They need that help.

“If it was your own child you would do anything to help them, so we’re asking for people’s kind donations to help us continue to run.”

You can help The Little of Box of Distractions by visiting https://uk.gofundme.com/littlebox.