Christmas may still be 10 days away, but it has come early for the Staverton-based charity The Butterfly Project.

The charity has received the use of a minibus for a minimum of three years, from local recycling and waste business Printwaste.

The minibus will provide a vital link between the nearest bus stops and The Butterfly Garden for service users as well as being used for day trips and journeys to use other local amenities.

The bus which has been branded "The Butterflyer" is owned by Printwaste and will be provided free of charge for a minimum of three years.

If the charity were to have to hire a vehicle for the same period then this would have cost in excess of £16,000, money that the charity can ill afford.

Chris Evans, who heads up The Butterfly Garden, said: "I cannot thank Printwaste enough for their very generous support. We welcome tens of people each and every day, of all ages, dealing with disablement of all kinds.

"Many of these are reliant on public transport to get to us and this will make their journey to us significantly easier.

"For many of the people we work with, a visit to The Butterfly Garden to take part in our activities is the highlight of their week and life is difficult enough for them, so anything that can make it easier for them to get to us is hugely welcome."

"Thanks to Printwaste's generosity we will also be planning trips and excursions to things like the circus and the pantomime to further enrich the lives of those we work with."

A number of other local firms have supported Printwaste in helping make the minibus available free of charge to The Butterfly Garden.

Cotswold Supported Living first brought the need for this help to Printwaste's attention and are sponsoring the repairs and maintenance of the vehicle, along with Ellwood Doors and Windows.

Signlink Graphics have sign written the minibus free of charge and K and R Crash Repairs are providing servicing and MOT's free of charge.

Geof Robins from Cheltenham-based Printwaste Recycling and Shredding, said: "We have been aware for a long time about the amazing work that Chris and all the volunteers at The Butterfly Garden undertake.

"We support a number of local charities in different ways and when we learnt of the difficulties that some of the service users were experiencing in getting to the project using public transport, we knew that we had to do something to help.

"The only costs that the project will have to meet are for insuring the vehicle and for fuel. We hope that when local firms hear about this, that others may step forward to offer to cover these costs as well."

Picture captions: The Butterflyer minibus arrives to the delight of the charity's supporters.