A GROUP of North Wales truckers are taking part in a push across the UK to deliver a happier Christmas to those in need this year.

Truck drivers based in Rhyl and Bangor are just some of those making up the North Wales branch of ‘Operation Christmas, which aims to distribute gifts and food parcels to underprivileged people and food banks.

The wider community, known as ‘CB Truckers UK’ after meeting on the CB Talk mobile phone application, are aiming to help those in poverty this Christmas in all corners of the UK.

Ben Furnival, based in Flint, is the North Wales ambassador for the operation, and said: “A group of us got talking and because there’s bad press at the moment about truck drivers, we just wanted to give something back and shine a more positive light on the industry.

“The main aim of the campaign is to distribute gifts to underprivileged children, which we’ll be doing through the food bank network. We’re just going around shops and other industries, asking for donations of gifts, food or money.

“You hear at the moment that Christmas is cancelled because of driver shortages and so on, so we just thought, off the back of that, we’ll show the UK that Christmas isn’t cancelled, and that we’ll deliver Christmas, basically!”

There are a number of ways in which people can help their cause, including making financial donations to their PayPal address (www.paypal.com/paypalme/OperationXmas21).

You can also visit their designated drop-off centre at the Clwydian Cars shop in Denbigh, or contact the team via email at: cbtruckersuk@outlook.com.

The cut-off date for all donations will be Friday, December 11, before the group begin to distribute food and goods across North Wales from December 18.

A ‘wish list’ of particularly important items will also soon be published online and shared on the group’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OperationXmas21).

This is not the first example of charity work Ben has involved himself in, having previously played a part in the North Wales Truck Gathering charity show, and he is not only running the North Wales sector, but the entire Welsh branch, which comprises roughly 40 drivers.

Ben added: “I’ve always been involved in charities and just want to give back to the community.

“There’s probably about £1,200-£1,300 in the PayPal account at the moment, and there are toys and gifts coming in all the time. It’s all still in its infancy, but it’s building day by day.

“On December 11, we’ll all go out shopping and buy extra gifts and food. I’m in contact with a few different food banks at the moment and they’re giving me lists of things they require, so we’ll just go out and purchase what they need.

"Ultimately, we want to make sure that the money actually goes where it should be going. If we see that a food bank is low on something, we’ll go out and purchase it (using the money donated via PayPal) and donate it to them.”