Members of the Essex County Sheriff's Office began their annual Holiday Toy Drive distribution Tuesday morning across the county.

Several trucks were loaded outside the Essex County Courthouse earlier Tuesday. Officers paid for and delivered more than 5,000 gifts, including toys, winter clothing and baby necessities. 

“We take a specific child and an age of a child and our officers will take two or three home with them and buy a specific toy for a specific child. And they, you can see, some of them go overboard. They buy bikes and stuff, and it's just a labor of love,” Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said.

The first stop Tuesday was the Salvation Army at Central Avenue near Washington Street, where a couple bikes were dropped off. 

From there, sheriff's officers visited several other locations, including some local elementary schools, to drop off toys.