CANAL Side, Cannon Street, Chester Street, Church Road....Every close, grove and avenue has been diligently mapped out, like a paper street view of Old Town.

Scouts dash around the Moravian Church Hall, each hauling a hefty stack of post, occasionally pausing to decipher a scribbled address, brow furrowed in concentration, before dropping the letter by one of the makeshift 'street signs' covering every inch of carpet, chair or pew.

"Deciphering handwriting can be difficult," concedes Richard Bennett, assistant Scout leader for the 12th Swindon Air Scouts Group in Old Town. "That and finding the cards that have been missorted, and that are not intended for our patch."

As if on cue, a little Beaver darts towards the Scouts leader, waving an envelop urgently in the air.

"The address doesn't exist," he booms.

And off the envelope goes to the mounting 'unknown' pile - the mystery location to be elucidated later.

The conscientious boy doesn't loiter. He has his work cut out and time is of the essence.

The industrious band have less than two hours to sort, heap and bag up no fewer than 2,500 Christmas cards as “seasonal employees” of the Scouts Christmas Post service. And that's just to start. The mail finally organised, the 100 boys and girls will take to the streets of Old Town and deliver each and every letter.

Along with their fellow Cubs and Beavers across Swindon and the surrounding villages - 1,500 in total - they are poised to shift 125,000 cards before December 23.

"It's a big operation," adds Richard. "It takes a huge amount of effort from the Scouts, parents and volunteers.

"And it's a logistical nightmare. There is a limited time to do it. They have to work quickly to make sure it's all delivered before Christmas. We're hoping to have everything done over the weekend or the start of next week. Some of them have done it for a few years now so they know Old Town inside out which helps.

"And they enjoy doing it. They like the responsibility. It's perceived to be an important job and they want to get it right. They want to step up to the mark to achieve it."

The Christmas Post is the sections' biggest annual fundraiser. Last year alone it secured £30,000 for the Scouts across the district and went towards activities, outings, cooking and camping equipment. The 12th Swindon Air Scouts Group in Old Town received around £2,000.

The service launched in November. Locals were invited to beat the mad pre-Christmas postal rush by buying special Scouts stamps and dropping off their Christmas cards into one of the groups’ dedicated mail boxes across town.

At the start of December the letters were sorted by area. On Wednesday, sacks were distributed to each Scouts section.

Any mislabelled letter, or card slipped into the wrong area sack along the way will be returned to head office and swiftly sent back to its rightful destination before Christmas Eve.

Undoubtedly a logistical feat only matched by Santa's transcontinental round, the campaign continues to keep veteran delivery Scouts on their toes even two or three years down the line.

Many newbies, like Madeline, were caught unawares by the sheer volume of mail to be delivered.

"I didn't think there were going to be so many cards," admits the 13-year-old. "Making sure it's all done on time will be a challenge but I'm up for a challenge."

For many strategists, the Christmas Post is about jumping in early and getting first pick of the "best streets", i.e. small concentrated residential roads close to home. Pickings are slim for those who leave it a little too late.

"Everybody has to get in there quickly," agrees 11-year-old Isla, who had her heart set on Avenue Road but was unfortunately was beaten to the punch. She will have to whip out Google maps and wind her way around York Road instead. And she has it all planned out already.

"I'm not going to carry it all at once. I'm going to do it in a few trips. But I want to get it done by Sunday. My legs will fall off by the end of it," she chuckles.

Novice deliveryman Joe, 10, is hoping to make quite the dent in his stack by week's end too. A Scout through and through, for him it's a matter of honour.

"I want the leaders to know I'm the kind of person that can do anything," he said.

"My area is around Albion Street and I want to do it in a day. I'll bring energy bars and sweets. The money we raise will pay for activities for us and it will motivate me. I'd be disappointed if I couldn't do it."