TWO North Somerset mums are hoping the people of Portishead will show some Christmas spirit and support their quest to reunite a poverty stricken family in India.

Gill Burgoyne and her friend Becky Stephens are holding a Christmas market and fair at Somerset Hall in he Precinct off High Street, on Saturday from 11am-4pm.

They hope the event will raise sufficient funds to re-house a family in Goa, preventing eight-year-old Anun from being forced in o an orphanage and enabling his 11-year-old brother, Abusheik, to leave the orphanage he is in and return to his family.

Gill said: “Becky and I have been travelling to India each year for several years and first connected with this family in 2010. The dad is unable to work due to a serious leg injury and the family lives in poverty surrounded by chronic overcrowding, no fresh water, poor sanitation, disease and low life expectancy. We believe that with the help of the North Somerset communities, we can make a difference for them.”

The Christmas market and fair promises to provide exciting activities and fun for all the family from 11am until 4pm. The event will include children singing carols, an entertainer presenting magic and balloon modelling, face painting, the Owls singing group, lots of stalls and refreshments and there will be a bouncy castle and ball pit. Santa is expected to arrive at 3pm just in time for story time. Admission is �1 but there is no charge to senior citizens.

The proceeds of the fair will go directly to the For The Love Of Anun Fund, for which a website, allowing people to follow the progress of the family, will soon be in operation.