A COMPETITION has seen 5,000 Brussels sprouts donated to charities by a Hampshire accountant firm.

HWB Chartered Accountants have donated thousands of people’s most hated festive vegetable to charities across the county.

The firm, based in Chandler’s Ford, after they challenged clients and members of the public to guess how many brussel sprouts were displayed in the two-metre high cylinder in their reception.

The closest guess was made by Tracy Butler of Wyvern College who won a luxury weekend away for two, worth £500.

The sprouts have been donated to The Chandler’s Ford Care Home and The Society of St James, a homelessness charity in Southampton.

Manager of Chandler’s Ford Care Home, Phil Chapman, said: “We were delighted to receive the kind donation of Brussels sprouts from HWB. We hosted a Christmas dinner for our 29 residents, so we had plenty of sprouts to go around.”

Sam Bax, from the Society of St James’ Fundraising Team, added: “The sprouts donated to us from HWB Accountants have been distributed to some of the 2,500 people SSJ support, who are facing homelessness throughout Hampshire. The festive season, can often be a time of year that many of the people who live with us are reminded of the things they don’t have, and so we try and make Christmas special for everyone. This generous donation has helped us to provide food this Christmas, and so has really made a difference to local vulnerable people.”

Geoff Rhodes, Managing Director of HWB Accountants said: “We wanted to do something a bit different and fun this year, but also wanted to help the local community. Being able to donate the sprouts from our competition meant we could help local people so that they had the green festive favourite on their plates.”