It's winter and Christmas season is almost upon us. But the anticipation of the Coming of Christ - not to mention the festive cheer - is set, this year, to a backdrop of COVID-19 with many of us separated and isolated.

So it'll be a different Christmas in households across England and Wales but let's not forget it's always a hard time of year for those without the warmth and shelter of a home.

The St Vincent de Paul Society - the SVP as it's known - has addressed some of these acute needs by producing 11,500 life-saving packs of useful items for the homeless.

Vinnie Packs, as they're called, provide cold weather essentials for people sleeping rough on our streets.

The packs are distributed by the charity's volunteers but some of our Catholic schools have joined in to do their bit to help the homeless.

One such school is St Paul's Catholic Primary and Nursery School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.