People across the country have been donating Easter eggs to children spending Easter in hospitals.

Staff at Greater Anglia provided more than 450 eggs to hospitals across Essex and Cambridgeshire after the company put out an appeal to passengers in railway stations to donate Easter treats.

Michael King, a relief ticket office clerk, masterminded the appeal and said: “I first did this in 2020 and we only had 120 eggs donated then.

“I didn’t think we’d get anywhere as many as we have.

“I’m blown away by it.”

In Leeds, the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, a local charity, delivered more than 1,000 Easter eggs and gifts to Leeds Children’s Hospital.

The hospital said in a post on Facebook: “This morning our friends from Children’s Heart Surgery Fund arrived with a van full of Easter eggs and treats for children and young people at Leeds Children’s Hospital.

“We couldn’t believe it when they said they had to go back to and fill the van again!”

In Bolton, a local fitness academy delivered a trolly full of Easter eggs to the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust children’s ward, while Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, received 300 eggs donated by the local community and businesses.

Staff at the West Midlands Ambulance Service also collected Easter eggs and toys, delivering them to Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands.