AGE UK Cheshire is launching a pub lunch group to help fight social isolation.

The first meeting will take place on Monday, February 5, at The Salt Barge Pub in Marston.

For £12 guests will receive a two-course pub meal including tea and coffee plus collection and drop-off from their home.

Initially the group will operate on the first Monday of every month, but if successful the charity hopes to take clients out every week and visit a variety of pubs in Cheshire.

The group will be run entirely by volunteers, including a driver and a bus escort.

Chris Rees, Age UK Cheshire’s day services development officer, said the lunch club would help create an informal support network for people who might be at risk of feeling isolated from their communities.

He said: “Pub Lunch clubs provide a valuable service for older persons who are lonely or isolated.

“It is a chance to meet others and get out and enjoy a good meal.

“Over the coming months we plan to sign up more pubs, run weekly and open several other clubs running in parts of Cheshire.”

Across the UK more than nine million people always or often feel lonely, and around 200,000 older people have not had a conversation with a friend or relative in more than a month.

In Cheshire there are more than 9,000 people who are affected by loneliness, with the majority being over 65.

Age UK’s lunch club is open to all older residents living within a five-mile radius of Hartford. Bookings must be made through the local coordinator.

For more information contact Chris Rees on 07467 045485.