A pub manager is calling on businesses to donate gifts to impoverished children this Christmas.

Oz Bayldon, owner of the White Lion pub in Streatham High Road, is asking shops to put out collection bins in the run-up to the festive period.

Public donations will then be distributed amongst children supported by his charity, Music4Children, which provides emergency accommodation and workshops for scores of children every year.

He said: “We would like to give these presents to the children upstairs in the hostel- I was concerned about them at Christmas.

“We've been in touch with Home-Start Lambeth to hopefully identify other children in the local area who won't be having a Christmas to remember.”

Fundraising manager Nish Saccaram hopes to make the appeal an annual event if there is a positive response from local businesses.

He said: “After what happened over the summer you have to look around, and you start to feel there has been a loss of community. Wherever you go there are people in a worse position than you.

“There might be a toy in somebody’s house which is not being used but it is in great condition. We are not asking for money- just little presents.

“[This appeal] has the ability to make children’s lives a bit better.”

According to a recent council report, one in three children in the borough live below the poverty line, with a typical family of four surviving on just £294 per week.