The staff from Hillcrest’s Tom Johnstone Road office in Dundee donated the gifts, aiming to bring some Christmas cheer to the young patients.

The trio who made the journey were Hillcrest Maintenance Service operations manager Brian Jones, Hillcrest Maintenance Service lead gas engineer Steven Meach and customer service admin assistant Carol Shearer.

This year wasn’t the first charitable trip to Ninewells. Last year staff members raised funds and donated them to the Oncology ward at the hospital.

Carol, who co-ordinated this year’s festive gift giving, said: “At this time of year, everyone is starting to get absorbed into the festive cheer. With so much excitement around us, it can sometimes be easy to forget those who may be in a less fortunate position in the run-up to Christmas.

“To bring a little bit of extra happiness to the children, we were only too happy to play Santa Claus and organise and deliver the gifts – the only thing missing was the red suits.”

Accepting the donation, play specialist Una Paton said: “Thank you to everyone at Hillcrest for thinking of us. We very much appreciate it.”