EXMOOR youngsters Henri and Louisa Rowe were touched by the plight of people having to rely on a local charity to put food on the table.

The brother and sister from Exton visited the West Somerset Food Cupboard – which helps hundreds of families struggling to make ends meet – last Christmas with their mother Ema.

And afterwards they decided they wanted to do something to help those who rely on the organisation for their basic every day meals.

The children, aged just eight and six, decided the best way to achieve this was to grow some plants to sell in return for items of non-perishable food instead of cash.

Henri was a past master at the idea, having grown tomato plants for the past two years which he sold to raise money for the charity 'School in a Bag', which supports children orphaned through war or a natural disaster by providing a bag filled with basics such as paper, pencils and eating utensils.

Louisa decided that this time they would grow sweet peas – her favourite flower - to sell to friends and neighbours.

The youngsters bought some seeds, planted them and nurtured the seedlings until they were big enough to sell on.

And last week the fruits of their labour went on display as 'Food for Flowers' was launched.

West Somerset Food Cupboard co-ordinator Christine Payne said the result was "truly wonderful."

"The children arrived at the food cupboard this week with enough food to feed two families for at least four days," she said.

Henri and Louisa (pictured) also collected an additional £8 to spend on buying any extra food items that might be needed to complete the boxes.

"I am very proud of them both and touched by their thoughtfulness for others and their enthusiasm for the task in hand," said Mrs Payne.

"It was a magnificent result and a huge achievement as through their efforts two extra households would not have to go hungry and would have food upon their table to help them through a time of crisis in their lives."