A Colchester rapper has co-written a charity Christmas song hoping to raise money for mental health charities and to remind people they are not alone at Christmas. 

Riley King, AKA Lyrical G-Riley, is an independent rap artist and songwriter who collaborated with Peter Donegan, Felicity Dukes-Allan, Richard Boys, Gracie Smickersgill and Erin Inglis to produce Christmas Time Is Here.

Produced by Britstar Unite, the song aims to raise money for two mental health charities - Young Minds and Music Minds Matter. 

Rapper - Riley King Rapper - Riley King (Image: Riley King) Riley said: "We wanted it to be based around mental health because every single one of the adults involved in the song have had their own mental health journeys.

"Given the fact that the artists involved in the song have gone through mental health issues I know there is a big stigma and a lack of services around mental health."

British country singer Peter Donegan, son of star Lonnie Donegan, also features on the track.

Riley said: "Even though Peter Donegan's dad is famous we didn't want to find big named artists because this track is not about exposure for ourselves - it is about charity.

"We wanted to keep it quite small and with independent and unrecognised artists.

Performance - Peter Donegan on stage Performance - Peter Donegan on stage (Image: Peter Donegan) "We wanted to give him the opportunity and because he lost his father he has his own mental health issues so we thought it would be lovely to bring him in.

"It has been an amazing experience and we have all developed really good friendships through the process of doing this."

Riley says the song is catchy and uplifting the song is. 

He said: "It is a Christmas jingle with a twist and obviously I'm a rapper so that's what the twist is because it's very unexpected for me to come in and start rapping.

"The song is very catchy and it's out now - everyone who has already listened to it knows all the words already.

"It's an uplifting track the lyrics are uplifting and the jingle is uplifting."

Singer - Gracie Smickersgill, 11 Singer - Gracie Smickersgill, 11 (Image: Gracie Smickersgill) Riley sympathises with people who might not have family to spend Christmas with this year.

He said: "For some people it is the hardest kind of time of year and I want to remind them that they are not alone.

"When I was in foster care and had no family I basically had no Christmas.

"After I met my wife and had kids I love it."

A music video for the song will be released on December 1. 

The song is available to listen to on all streaming platforms.