It’s not often you see a group of middle-aged women flashing their knickers in the middle of the street.

This was the eye-catching scene outside the Brown Bear cafe in Cross Street on Thursday.

The reality, however, was a little more in keeping with the plush surroundings of nearby Upper Street.

The so-called “Knicker Drop-Off Girls” were meeting to leave over 150 pairs of knickers for a Christmas appeal. The underwear, and luxury toiletries, were this week given to Holloway charity Solace Women’s Aid, which houses women who have suffered violence and takes in 900 a year from Islington.

Angela Neustatter, the brainchild of the appeal, said: “Somebody mentioned it to me that many women in refuges don’t get things like new knickers or toiletries – items of an indulgent or luxury nature.

“Imagine not being able to afford new knickers, having to wear the same ones.

“It sometimes feels like we take these things for granted. It felt wrong that I am able to lead a comfortable life, not having to worry about this sort of thing.”

Angela, 73, who also lives in Cross Street, praised the response of the Knicker Drop Off Girls: “It was a very straightforward. I put out a few appeals and the response from these women was magnificent – we filled three hampers of goods.”

For more information about Solace Women’s Aid, visit solacewomensaid.org