Removal company fills whole van with food and essentials to hand out to families in need

Peterlee based company Halls Removals gave away the free food and essential items between 12pm and 4pm on Wednesday, October 28 to those who need them most.

A van full of goods was based at Neville Road and members of the public would invited to come along and take whatever they needed – no questions asked.

Chris Hall, the owner of Halls Removals has explained where the idea came from and explained that the community spirit surrounding the collection drive has been great.

The 56-year-old said: “I was discussing it with my daughter at the start of the week and we just thought it would be a good idea to do.

"We’ve been getting donations from the community, one person even donated £100 for us to go out and buy some stuff, I knew we’d get a good response.”

The family-run business has been in Peterlee for over 60 years and even Chris’ grandchildren helped out to give the food away.

He added: “We’ve been a well known name in Peterlee for a long time now, a lady who now lives in Florida has even been in touch to thank us for what we are doing.

"The whole thing has been a huge family effort, even the grandchildren who are off school this week were roped in to help give out carrier bags during the collection.

"In the end I think around 100 people came along, it was great, I even had to pop out for some more shopping.”

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on SAFC and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.