Young carers and their families in Kingston are getting a special Christmas treat thanks to a funding boost that was given to their network recently.

The Kingston Carers Network will receive £1,000 from Tesco's Bags of Help scheme after shoppers voted to direct the money raised by the scheme in to the network that helps support young carers and their families in the borough.

The money will reportedly go towards hampers full of "sweet treats, festive food and gifts" to be given to carers and their families who are living with financial difficulties at the moment.

Part of the funding will also go towards taking the young carers in Kingston out for a day of ice skating and a Christmas dinner, "giving the teenagers something to look forward to as well as offering peer support, to acknowledge how much they give to their families," a spokesperson for Tesco said.

Diane White, CEO of the Kingston Carers' Network, said receiving these gifts would be a memorable moment for young carers in Kingston.

"Usually there are tears and emotion when we arrive with the hamper.

"For one young man it was his first ever Christmas present.

"Funding from schemes like Bags of Help make it possible to brighten the lives of the carers and make them feel valued and special," White said.

David Page, Head of Community at Tesco, meanwhile praised the scheme as a "fantastic success":

"Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers, who get to decide how the money will be spent in their community," he said.

The supermarket chain say that Bags of Help has awarded over £80 million to more than 27,000 local community projects since it was launched.