'We don't want people to be alone at Christmas'

Charity volunteers in a seaside resort will be giving up their time on Christmas Day to ensure those who would otherwise be alone can come together to enjoy a festive celebration.

Staff at the Salvation Army in Blackpool will be busy preparing enough food to provide Christmas dinner with all the trimmings for around 70 people.

Major Richard Thompson said their clients at the charity's Bridge Project, which supports homeless people, would "otherwise be on their own or not have a Christmas dinner at all or anything to do with Christmas".

He said they would also be delivering Christmas dinners to families in the local community before heading home to have their own dinners.

"We are doing everything we can just to give them a positive Christmas experience," he added.

He said the team at the charity "try to show love and compassion throughout the year but especially at this time of year when it's cold and you have that nostalgic feeling of what Christmas is".

Maj Thompson told BBC Radio Lancashire dinner would be served to around 50 people at The Citadel in Blackpool, with around 20 dinners delivered direct to people's homes.

It is set to be a busy day for the charity as the Christmas dinner event follows its annual Christmas Day service in the morning.

The Salvation Army band has also been playing at a number of hotels in the resort in the build up to the holidays.

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