A CHARITY has been given 200 high-quality mattress toppers by the Great Britain Olympic team to give to people in need in the Woking.

The Dreams toppers were excess to requirements for Team GB for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which are now due to take place in July.

Someone connected with the team spoke to Tony Hewat, the chairman of trustees at The Besom in Woking, a cross-church charity, saying Team GB was looking for an organisation to make good use of the toppers.

Tony said: “This makes such a difference, to be able to give a top-quality topper with every single mattress that goes out shows the people we help that they are valued.”

The Besom is a national network of church charities in which volunteers help people in the local area who have been referred by various charities and agencies that deal with people suffering hardship.

Tony said The Besom generally has to buy toppers, but the ones donated by Team GB are of the highest quality. He said these will be shared with other Besoms, including Guildford, Esher, Ashtead, Dorking and Basingstoke.

Allie Smith, commercial executive at Team GB, said: “It is pleasing to know these items will be used to support local communities and we are thankful to our partner Dreams for their support in the creation of the toppers”.

A “besom” is a traditional broom, often made with birch twigs or heather, and was the childhood nickname of the man who founded the first Besom in 1987 because he often swept up leaves outside his family home.

For more information, visit www.wokingbesom.org.