Christmas has come early for a raft of good causes thanks to a bumper charity payout by a Bradford company.

Sovereign Health Care, of Manningham Lane, has spent £55,000 on Christmas this year through donations to nine local charities.

The Bradford not-for-profit organisation has handed out cheques for £5,000 and £10,000 to causes ranging from cancer care to a sports association for people with disabilities.

Among the beneficiaries is the Listening for Life Appeal, which is supported by the Telegraph & Argus and aims to raise £1.5million to build a new cochlear implant centre in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary.

A spokesman for Sovereign said: "The Sovereign Health Care Charity Trustees are proud to be able to support these very caring causes and hope the Christmas boxes will make it that much easier for the charities to continue providing their fantastic and much-needed services for the people of Yorkshire."

Among those to benefit is The Bradford Soup Run, set up in 1984 to provide food, clothing, blankets and encouragement to homeless people in the city.

It costs Soup Run more than £2,000 a month to provide food for up to 70 people every Friday night in the city centre.

In addition to dishing up home-made soup and stew cooked by volunteers, it also hands out tea, coffee, fruit juice, bread, and fresh fruit and crisps that can be eaten at a later date.

And at Christmas it gives out as many Christmas presents as possible - all donated by local people and businesses.

Soup Run director John Tempest said: "Christmas and New Year are difficult times for the homeless and we are very grateful for all the help we get from individuals and from organisations like Sovereign.

"This latest donation of £5,000 will keep us going over December and January to make the festive season that little bit better for people who have no home to go to at Christmas."

The other eight charities to receive a christmas cash donation from Sovereign are: l Bradford Lord Mayor's Appeal - £10,000 to be split between the Lord Mayor's chosen charities for 2007, The Ear Trust and Bradford Cancer Support l The Hospital Heartbeat Appeal - £10,000 to go towards local hospital projects l Endometriosis UK - £5,000 to help fund the charities national support network l The Positive Lifestyle Centre - £5,000 to help develop a new larger classroom that will enable them to tutor more children l The Life Education Centre, Bradford - £5,000 to provide children in Bradford schools with bookmarks to encourage them to read l Marie Curie Cancer Care - £5,000 towards the costs of caring for patients at its Bradford hospice l Bradford Cancer Support - £5,000 towards the charity's Daisy Appeal for a new purpose-built centre l Bradford Sports and Recreation Association for People with Disabilities (BSRAPD) - £5,000 to continue work which this October helped local disabled athletes win four gold medals, four silver and a bronze at the Special Olympic Games in Shanghai.