Kindhearted Neve, 7, spreads a little bit of joy to her neighbours

Neve Howell, seven, of Hailhead Drive in Pontefract, has been writing letters and drawing pictures to keep her street smiling throughout the lockdown.

The idea came about when Neve and her mum, Lindsay, were discussing how people might be feeling in these unprecedented times.

Neve decided she wanted to write letters and draw pictures and post them to the houses in her street.

Lindsay said: “I agreed to let Neve go through with the idea because she was really excited about it.

“She wrote her first letter and drew a lovely picture of a rainbow, then more came after that.

“We spent the hour we’re allowed out posting them. It was quite nerve wracking because we didn’t know our neighbours that well, but Neve really wanted to do it.

“It was a nice surprise when we saw a few of Neve’s letters in people’s windows by the end of the week.

“When we heard the announcement from the government that we still had to stay at home longer, she wanted to write more and started drawing sunrises. Low and behold, everyone put those ones up next to the first one.”

Neve, a pupil at Darrington CE Primary School, where Lindsay is a teaching assistant, won a place on the school council for her manifesto on wanting to care for others.

Lindsay and husband, Steve, said they are so very proud of Neve and how her efforts have brought their family closer to their neighbours.

Lindsay said: “People have been coming to the gate to leave gifts for her like marshmallows, stationary, loombands, teddies and thank you notes.

“It’s been nice getting to know our community more and we are so proud of our girl for doing this all out of kindness.

“We've been overwhelmed by our neighbours' generosity towards her and want to thank them for taking this little girl into their hearts and showing that kindness really does matter.”