A WOMAN who appealed for help with knitting baby clothes for a maternity ward was inundated with the response across Oxfordshire.

Pensioner Margaret Fell, from Grove, has now given the John Radcliffe Hospital’s special care baby unit more than 3,500 items of baby clothes since 2007.

But last year, after some of her helpers passed away, she pleaded for support in the Oxford Mail.

Around 90 people responded, offering their nimble knitting skills.

And last week, the grandmother-of-five, along with friends Joyce Lelliot and Claire Foster, delivered their bundles of joy.

The 730 baby hats, socks and blankets will be used particularly for premature babies who do not fit into normal baby clothes.

Ms Fell said: “I have so many knitters now. So everyone who has a baby this Christmas should come away with a present.”

Although she can no longer knit herself because she suffers from repetitive strain disorder, Ms Fell organises and collects the clothes knitted by her 90 volunteers from as far away as Witney.

Volunteer Ms Lelliot, 76, whose grandson Sam Lelliot was born prematurely and spent around three months in hospital, said: “It means a lot, especially because he was looked after so well.

“It really is nice to see what is going on over there.”