Richard amongst some of the presents so generously donated by local residents for our brave soldiers serving in Afghanistan

Watford’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Richard Harrington, has thanked all those who generously contributed to Watford Conservative’s ‘Stockings for Soldiers’ campaign. The campaign has now ended, with over 100 parcels having been sent to individual soldiers in Afghanistan.

Richard said:

“I am delighted that people have responded so positively to this campaign. It was very important to me that this campaign was completed well. I have spoken to several soldiers who have recently returned from Afghanistan who have all said that simple shows of human touches in sending out these parcels really mean a lot to our serving troops. We have been overwhelmed with the kindness and thought shown by so many people in the gifts they have given and the messages they have sent.

“We did not enter this blindly. We considered the full repercussions of everything we did and as such decided to send parcels to individual soldiers as not to overburden the mail delivery in Afghanistan. We have done our utmost to ensure that parcels are given to those who would not otherwise be receiving any parcels this Christmas.

“In spite of our doing this with the best intentions some have been critical of our campaign. The Lib Dem PPC, Sal Brinton, has publically criticised our plans, saying that they are going against the advice of the MoD. Whilst I fully respect the MoD, I would rather take the advice of serving soldiers than bureaucrats.

“We will be continuing this campaign into the New Year as I feel it is important to show support and boost morale all year round. “