When Julie Innes was putting her son to bed one night she could tell there was something on the little lad's mind.

It was shortly before his fifth birthday and she had already thought of a few toys he might like, but this year Nathan Hill's thoughts had run elsewhere.

"He asked if there were children who didn't have everything he had," she says.

So Julie told him the truth - that sadly not all children have toys or a mother or father who can be there to look after them.

"Nathan was really upset when I was telling him about some children who haven't grown up with parents around and he wanted to do something to help them," she says.

So when his mother suggested there might be something they could do, Nathan was delighted.

"Nathan wanted to give toys to children in Edinburgh who didn't have a mummy or daddy so we contacted Barnardo's Scotland as we knew they used to run homes," says Julie.

"We learned the charity no longer runs homes but they do have family support services in Edinburgh where they support children and young people.

"When we contacted the charity they said the toys would be very useful."

Julie, 27, and Nathan made a special visit to their local toy store where the big-hearted young boy spent all his birthday money on cars, dolls, plastic dinosaurs and space hoppers to give away.

The pair, who currently live in Restalrig, then delivered them to Barnardo's in Edinburgh to hand out to the local children the charity supports.

Nathan's kind gesture didn't quite end there though.

His generosity has captured the hearts of many of his mother's friends and work colleagues after Julie posted his idea on Facebook.

Now they too have joined the drive, taking time to help with donations by handing over toys and games previously belonging to their own children.

Hawys Kilday, assistant director for Barnardo's in Edinburgh, has thanked them all for their donations.

"It's fantastic that Nathan gave up his birthday presents to help other children," he says.

"We've worked with over 240,000 children, young people and families over the last year alone and we want to provide the same level of support to all of them.

"Nathan's donation is helping us continue our work and make sure no child is turned away from the help that they need."