AN INITIATIVE launched last year to help ensure youngsters have a present to open on Christmas morning has returned.

Special Christmas trees were put around Dunbar with decorations featuring the age, gender and Christmas wishes of a youngster in need.

This year, Dunbar Rotary Club is repeating the successful Angel Tree project.

Already, angel trees are in place in the Bleachingfield Centre, St Anne’s Scottish Episcopal and Methodist Church, Belhaven Parish Church, Dunbar Parish Church and BeGreen.

Each tag on the angel tree gives the gender, age and interests, but not the name, of a deserving child.

The public are asked to be an angel, choose a tag, purchase an appropriate gift, and hand it, unwrapped, to Rotary to arrange delivery.

Elaine O’Brien, president of the community group, was pleased to say that the project had proven successful last year and “it looks like it is going to be successful this year”.

She told the Courier that the people of Dunbar were “very generous” and the initiative was spreading throughout the country.

The president said: “The nice thing is we took it to the Rotary district conference this year.

“There were about 250 delegates and a number of clubs have decided to take on the project.

“We have been round speaking to other clubs in the area, others in East Lothian, that are actually going to do it as well.

“It is spreading the news and it just means children are having presents to open on Christmas morning, whatever the reason.”