The festive spirit of giving has hit Kingston with two good causes sharing more than £7,000 in grants from the Surrey Comet.

Through the Gannett Foundation, the charity arm of the newspaper’s parent company, the Comet is donating cash to the Fircroft Trust and to the Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau.

The biggest grant is going to the Fircroft Trust, a Surbiton-based charity that helps adults with mental health problems and people with learning disabilities, who will be awarded £5,000.

The charity will use the money on two new greenhouses to help the patients to grow plants and flowers to display and hopefully sell.

Fundraising manager Jill Fletcher Meloun said: “We are thoroughly grateful to have received this kind donation.

"Our gardening project means an awful lot to our service user; it allows them to engage in a productive outdoor activity and is very good for their development.

"These greenhouses are vital as the one we are using at the moment is starting to get rusty and a fall apart and so will allow us to expand the project further."

A further £2,280 will go to the Kingston Citizens Advice Bureau, which offers free advice on problems including debt, benefits and employment.

The Gannett Foundation supports projects such as neighbourhood improvements, economic and youth development, assistance to disadvantaged or disabled people or environmental conservation.