Hundreds of shoe boxes filled with Christmas treats are winging their way to soldiers in Afghanistan after a Bristol woman's campaign.

Childminder Liz Farrell, 45, from Knowle, was a medic with the Royal Navy Reserves for 24 years until the medical branch was closed down three years ago.

For the last month she has been organising a project called To Our Special Heroes, and after an article in the Evening Post appealed for people to help, she has collected 360 boxes.

Internet readers on this website, as far afield as Northampton, Essex and Sunderland have got involved.

Liz, whose son wants to join the Marines and whose daughter wants to be a nurse in the Navy, has been storing the boxes at Royal Naval Reserve Unit HMS Flying Fox on Winterstoke Road.

Yesterday, the Royal Mail laid on a special van to pick the boxes up free of charge to take to their sorting office in Patchway before they go to London to be sent out to troops via the British Forces Postal Service.

The boxes contain things like foot powder, shower gel, lip salve, biscuits, boiled sweets, tinsel and silly hats.

Liz said: "I was not expecting that many boxes – the response from Evening Post readers was phenomenal. A mention must go to my friend Sue Dunn, who has been making boxes out of flat-pack card, because we couldn't get enough shoe boxes, and to 87-year-old Edna Holcombe, who has been walking the streets of Yatton to get signatures on Christmas cards.

"I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped. I am sure they will make a big difference."

Liz is sending the boxes through the charity Support Our Soldiers, which is one of two charities endorsed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Support Our Soldiers and Thank the Forces send strictly controlled numbers of parcels to troops on the front line under an agreed programme which minimises disruption to the postal system.

The MoD is encouraging anyone who wishes to send a Christmas parcel to use one of the charities.