More than 100 enjoy community Christmas dinner

The special guests were nominated by people in the local community as a gesture to say to them ‘someone is thinking of you’.

There were a range of criteria for nominations for people facing loneliness at Christmas, who have experienced a life-changing event, faced redundancy, lost a loved one, struggled with the cost of living and even those who’ve working so hard that their families struggled to go out for a hot cooked meal together.

The event was hosted by ward borough councillor Leigh Higgins, with a team of volunteers including Michelin Bib chef, Dom Clarke, who came back to the area from Manchester to cook the Christmas dinner followed by sticky toffee pudding. The event was sponsored by Foresters Financial.

On arrival, guests were treated to nibbles and Melton Mowbray pork pie, and offered mince pies to take home.

Leigh said: “At this time of year, togetherness is an important message of Christmas, yet many of us have experienced tough times in our lives for whatever reason and this was a way of saying to those guests nominated ‘someone out there is thinking of you’.

"To have a Michelin Bib chef as our lead in the kitchen really made the event that extra special and our kitchen team of Amanda Lowe, Elise Maydwell and Pete Wilson managed to get over 100 meals plated and served in under 29 minutes.

"It could not have been done without the fabulous support of local volunteers, including Sarah Cox, Sharon Butcher, Margaret Glancy and Allen Thwaites who contacted Father Christmas for a special appearance to hand out presents for every guest.”

There were three mini buses, from the Community Transport team, to help collect and take home various guests.

Jo Manship, who attended the event as a party of five, said: "It was a super event and for my little boy to see Santa was something I was not expecting.

"It's so lovely to have attended such a fun-filled event where the community warmth was beaming through in people's faces.”