Hundreds of elderly people will receive £25 each from a special trust fund this Christmas - but no one is quite sure why.

The Brighton Town Hall Christmas Trust Fund was originally set up to benefit the families of fisherfolk.

However, no one can find the original deeds with details of when the fund was started and who was behind the idea.

East Brighton Rotary Club has distributed almost £14,000 to 559 pensioners on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council, which now runs the fund.

The gifts are in the form of tokens which can be spent at Boots or Sainsbury's.

Club treasurer Keith Angel said: "Each year there are fewer people left alive to receive the gift and they are now all in their 80s or 90s.

"We think it is likely the fund was sent up before the First World War but the original deeds have been lost.

"We have no details of how it came about or who was the generous benefactor. We would love to hear from anyone who knows anything about its origins."

Mr Angel added no one could be added to the list except the surviving spouses of beneficiaries who have died.

The amount given to each person has been increased from £20 to £25 this year because of a decline in the number of beneficiaries, who all had fishing connections.

Mr Angel said originally, recipients had to live in Brighton but that had now been extended to include Hove and Portslade.

"I don't know what happens when there are only two left or when there are none at all.

"Without the original deeds, it is hard to say."

Anyone who knows about the fund is asked to write to East Brighton Rotary Club c/o the Bank of Scotland, 15 Queen Square, Brighton, BN1 3FD.