BLANKETS made by a group of knitters will be keeping children warm 3,000 miles away this Christmas.

The gifts were stitched by people at the Restore Community centre in The Broadway, Debden, and are being shipped to villages in Zambia, where members support several schools.

Judy Lovell, a manager at the centre, which is supported by the Restore Community Church in Chester Road, said: “We used to work in local schools doing HIV and AIDS talks.

“But we have a theory that if we do something for our own community, we do it for another as well, so we got involved in building a school in Zambia.

“There are now four schools in Zambia with about 900 children and kids get retro-viral drugs and a meal a day during the school term.

“The blankets are an added bonus to that.”

The knitting group, which takes place at the centre on Wednesdays, is one of several activities on offer there, including legal and benefits advice drop-in sessions and lessons in computer and internet use.

For more information, call the centre on 020 8508 7247 or visit facebook.com/restorecommunity.