A food bank that appealed for help in the Evening Times has been overwhelmed with support - including a little boy who donated his birthday party.

We told last week how Hillington Park food bank's shelves were nearly empty and staff feared they would struggle to feed those who needed help.

Within 24 hours the Hillington Park Parish Church-based lifeline had £5000 worth of cash donations and nearly the same again food.

But staff were most overwhelmed by the support from eight-year-old Alex Connolly.

He had been shopping with his mum, Lisa, for goodies for his birthday party when he spotted the food bank's plight on the front cover of the Evening Times.

Lisa, from Penilee, said: "Alex is autistic and so everything for him is black and white - so it seems obvious to him that you should always want to help people who need it.

"We were out buying party bags for his birthday when we saw the Evening Times and I said, 'Look at all these sweets we are buying when there are people who can't buy anything and who rely on this food bank which might have nothing to give them'.

"Alex wanted to buy food straight away. I explained to him that we only have so much money and so, although we had already bought him presents, it meant that if we bought food for the food bank then we not be able to buy him anything else."

As well as buying a donation for the food bank, Alex, in primary four at Glasgow Gaelic School, also chose a cake to give and wrote a note on it, saying "It's my eight birthday on Sunday. Please enjoy this cake from me. From Alex."

The church, on Berryknowes Road near Paisley Road West, is one of four branches of the Trussell Trust's Glasgow South West food bank and opens on a Friday morning to support people who need help.

They give out food, toiletries and washing powder to those who cannot afford to buy basics for themselves.

Development worker Claire McCunnie said she was in tears when she came across Alex's generous birthday gift.

Claire said: "I was emptying one of the crates and came across Alex's cake and that was me - I was gone.

"He's an outstanding wee man. Fabulous."

The Evening Times told last Thursday how stock was running low in the food bank.

And the people of Glasgow more than rose to the challenge.

Claire said everyone from elderly women to businesses were coming in with offers of food - from one bag of shopping to a woman with two trolley loads.

Among the many who came forward were the Lord Provost’s Goodwill Fund, the Herald and Time's Group staff benevolent fund and Motorpoint Car Supermarket.

Claire said: "The response on Friday was phenomenal, nothing short of phenomenal.

"Someone came in with a massive, massive donation and I sat down to talk to them. The next time I turned round six more people had been in and gone before I had even had the chance to thank them.

"It's great because we are fully stocked again and have even managed to send some stock over to Ibrox and we have stocked Govan as well.

"I was really shocked with the amount that was donated. It was amazing to see people coming in.

"I was asking if they wanted a thank you letter or some acknowledgement but everyone was saying, 'no, no thank you'. People are just so generous."