Fleetwood Town's first team ensured Christmas came early for poorly youngsters at Brian House Children's Hospice

Joey Barton’s men took time out from preparing for Saturday’s trip to Bristol Rovers by spreading Christmas cheer in the community.

The Town men handed out Christmas goodie bags filled with signed footballs, scarfs and selection boxes, bringing a smile to the faces of youngsters at the Bispham-based Hospice.

On top of the Town memorabilia the players once again organised a whip round, doubling last year’s tally by giving a £1,000 donation to the Hospice.

And boss Barton says the visit puts everything in perspective.

He said: “You can get sad and depressed when you do not win games of football but in the whole scheme of things it is very trivial.

“If we can get out in the community and bring a few smiles to a few faces and cheer a few people up then that is the least that we can do.

“It really puts things in perspective because sometimes we do take just being able to spend time at home over the festive period for granted.”

Brian House cares for local children with very complex needs and life-limiting conditions. It costs £1.2m to keep the facility open each year, six times what it receives from the Government.

The players were given a tour of the facilities and got to meet some of the children.

Town skipper Craig Morgan was pleased to spread some festive cheer and praised the staff at Brian House for their unbelievable work.

He said: “It’s been a great experience to come down and see the unbelievable work the staff do here at Brian House.

“The lads have put together a donation which will hopefully play a small part in the huge job of running the hospice. We’ve enjoyed coming down and seeing the smiles on the children’s faces despite the difficult circumstances they are going through so close to Christmas.”