What started as a kitchen table project run by two Windsor mothers has grown into an independent charity that supports thousands of families each year.

From supplying formula and clothes to baby buggies and nappies, the Baby Bank - now situated down the road in Maidenhead, Berkshire - has an overwhelming amount of stock that is sorted through by volunteers.

Cost of living calendar - reveal a different story every day

And in the run-up to a Christmas blighted by a cost of living crisis, demand is soaring.

Rebecca Mistry, co-founder and co-chief executive, began the project when her own daughter was two - she's now ten, and in that time the charity has moved multiple times as they continue to outgrow their premises.

"We just thought, if people need food banks they also probably need help specific to babies," Ms Mistry told Sky News.

Since opening their doors, the Baby Bank has expanded its reach and now supports children up to the age of 16.

Ms Mistry works alongside Lauren Hall, her fellow chief executive, and a team of volunteers.

In 2019, the Baby Bank helped 1,600 families. A year later, during the COVID pandemic, this more than doubled to 3,262.

So far this year, it has had referrals for more than 4,123 families.

Pleas through the door

Pleas for help come through the door by the way of health visitors and social workers - and as soon as it is unlocked, Ms Mistry does not stop moving.

She packs referral bags, takes the donation of a buggy and cot, and answers phone call after phone call asking for help.

One call still sticks in her mind.

"I answered the phone one day, and a woman was just sobbing," she said.

"I asked what I could do, and she said 'I don't need help'. She was calling to thank us.

"She had escaped an abusive relationship and she said, 'I can't get my daughter to take off your clothes. She is just dancing around in them.'"

As Ms Mistry sorts through a clothing referral for a two-year-old, she has exacting standards.

Anything with a mark, or hole, is put to one side. If she wouldn't put her own children in it, she won't give it to anyone else in need.

The clothes are then neatly packed in a nondescript bag for life.

"We don't want to make things worse for anyone," she said.

"So we don't put our logo on anything - we don't want them to feel embarrassed if they are out with their friends who spot one of our donation bags."

Debt and imminent homelessness

As the group discuss the recent death of Awaab Ishak, a toddler who died as a direct result of black mould in the flat his parents rented, one health visitor said a family she works with has "water running down the walls".

Others are thousands of pounds in debt and facing imminent homelessness.

Beyond the essentials - including both branded and generic school uniform - the Baby Bank tries to bring children in the area a little bit of Christmas magic.

Its Christmas campaign encourages locals to drop off a gift bag containing a pair of brand-new pyjamas and a book.

Volunteers then add one of the 1,000 advent calendars, donated by a local business.

Radiators turned off

But the charity itself is not immune to the cost of living crisis - none of the radiators in the unit is switched on, and when it becomes bright enough outside, all the internal lights are turned off.

"We like to joke that if you are cold, you aren't moving fast enough," Ms Mistry said.

"And it's better than our old place - this one has a toilet, and it doesn't have holes in the ceiling."

She said she tries not to think about what her upcoming energy bill for the place will look like.

Ultimately, she would rather the charity didn't exist at all: "But we do, and we need help to keep going."