Meet Leeds' real-life 'Father Christmas' who spent £10,000 and filled 22 trolleys at Smyth's Toys for vulnerable children

Gardening and fencing firm boss Reese Fletcher, 30, and his team turned piles of leftover wood into more than 800 Christmas trees which they sold to raise the cash.

They then used the money to fund a trolley dash in toy shops to buy gifts which he then distributed to seven charities to help vulnerable children in his hometown of Leeds.

The team filled a staggering 22 trolley in Smyth's Toy Shop and spent £2,000 on bikes to make sure disadvantaged youngsters had a present to open on Christmas Day.

Reese, whose motto is ‘it’s nice to be nice’, said he was sparked into action last year after being touched by a video highlighting underprivileged children.

He raised £3,000 last yuletide from the sale of 260 trees, but this year has more than trebled the amount meaning he can help thousands of youngsters get a present.

"We sold the trees for £10 and sold more than 800 of them, but people donated more so we raised £10,500 in the end.

"We spent £8,000 in Smyth's Toys, we spent another £2,000 on bikes from a bike shop and spent the rest on chocolates and selection boxes.

"We chose seven different charities in Leeds to distribute to who then give the presents to vulnerable children from vulnerable families who might not have got a present this year."

Kind-hearted Reese's fantastic festive fundraising efforts started last year when he saw a charity's video.

He decided to knock up some Christmas trees using timber from his firm Fletcher's Fencing, Decking and Garden Maintenance.

And after the success of last year, he decided to do it again, but bigger.

Reese added: “I saw a video last year which touched my heart. I have kids myself and I can’t imagine them going without gifts.

"I was going to donate £50 and went outside and saw all this wood lying in my garden left over from my business.

“I came up with the idea to make Christmas trees out of it and sell them for £10 each.

"I made 10 in 10 minutes and ended up selling 260.

"This year it went mad and people were coming from all over for the trees.

"We'd made about 300 at the back end of November and they sold out.

"The response was unreal, we had people from all over the country calling us inquiring about the trees.

"I got my lads to make them whenever we had a quiet day at work and we spent a few weeks getting them all made up.

“Every tree I made, I knew it was going to give a kid a Christmas they’ve never had.

“It’s so tough to know some people are struggling so much.

"This is going to make a massive difference and give hundreds of children a Christmas they might never have had."

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