Letters from the North Pole will be winging their way to children in Bristol this Christmas thanks to Santa’s little helpers, the NSPCC.

The Letter from Santa campaign allows children to receive a letter from Father Christmas, including their name, details and even why they’ve been good.

To launch the 2016 campaign, a survey conducted for the charity revealed a third of children in the south west of England would simply ask Santa to keep other kids safe.

Of the 170 children surveyed in the area, a further 20 per cent wanted to make sure everyone gets Christmas dinner.

Children also gave responses such as ‘get rid of all guns’ and ‘stop all wars’, showing their awareness of how young people are suffering both in the UK and elsewhere, is greater than ever as Christmas approaches.

More simple requests of Santa made by those polled included 15 per cent of children saying he should hand out more presents and 18 per cent stating that everyone should be given a ride on his sleigh.

The survey comes weeks after the NSPCC’s Childline revealed a 35 per cent one-year rise in counselling sessions delivered across the UK for anxiety, with worries raised by children and young people ranging from personal issues to national and international political concerns.

The NSPCC’s Letter from Santa campaign offers parents, carers or friends the chance to help fulfil children’s wishes by donating £5 to the charity in order to protect and support children on UK shores.

Childline is just one of the charity’s services that benefit from the funds raised from the Letter from Santa fundraising campaign.

One young person expressed their worries when writing to Santa this year:

“Dear Santa,

I have been a very good girl this year. For Christmas I don’t want a present this year. Instead I want to ask if you can help keep all the other boys and girls in the world safe.

Lots of things are making me worried including all the wars and fighting that is going on. Everyone is fighting and many people are being hurt.

I hope their mums and dads can keep them safe. I am worried it might happen here, too. I hope I have been good enough for mum and dad that I get what I want for Christmas.

If I have been extra good and you can do both, I would also like a PS4.

Thank you,

Kady, aged 11”

Sharon Copsey, NSPCC head of service for the South West, said:

“Our Letter from Santa survey highlights children’s growing awareness and concern for the difficult plight of many other young people, both in this country and abroad,. 2016 has seen a succession of terrible stories about child abuse, neglect and suffering which has clearly left its mark on young people across the UK; its unsurprising that children’s thoughts are turning to those less fortunate than them at this time of year.

“Sending a Letter from Santa to a child will help us to continue to provide vital services to vulnerable children, young people and their families over the holiday period and beyond.”

The NSPCC’s Letter from Santa campaign offers a personalised letter to each and every child for a suggested £5 donation, which would cover the cost of a call to Childline with change to spare.

To order a letter from Father Christmas please visit: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/make-a-donation/letter-from-santa/