Watford shoppers have donated £4,284 of food in support of two UK food bank charities.

Some 2.6 tonnes of canned, dried and long-life food have been donated at the eight Tesco stores across Watford as part of the Tesco Neighbourhood Food Collection, with all proceeds going to foodbank charity The Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity Fareshare.

The nationwide initiative, now in its fifth year, helps to provide vital support for some of the community’s most vulnerable people, supplying hot meals and food parcels to those most in need.

The collection, which took place over six days in November, is the second such campaign organised by Tesco in 2014, having raised enough food to provide 5.1 million meals in July.

Dean Woods, customer experience manager at Tesco Watford Extra, said: "Our customers have really taken the collection to their hearts and it’s great to see so many generous donations to help support some of the more vulnerable people across the UK and particularly in Watford itself.

"We’ve been overwhelmed by the support the Neighbourhood Food Collection has received in-store and we’re pleased to be able to help deliver a very important gift to those who need it most this Christmas."

David McAuley, Trussell Trust CEO, added: "Public kindness means that this Christmas our foodbanks will be able to give emergency food, support and festive treats to local families who would otherwise have struggled to put food on the table at all."