Local volunteers were joined by members of the Mansfield District Council cabinet to help serve Christmas dinner to the homeless in Mansfield.

The group, known as ‘Soup Kitchen Mansfield’ were served a full Christmas dinner with roast turkey and all the trimmings at the Buttercross on West Gate. Food items, as well as gifts, have been kindly donated by members of the community, local businesses and cabinet members.

When the council found out about the work done by the volunteers, they were keen to get involved with the result that councillors Dave Saunders, Andrew Tristram, Barry Answer and Deputy Mayor Mick Barton helped to serve Christmas dinner.

The soup kitchen was founded by Kirsty Knights and Louise Rahman earlier in the year to provide the homeless with a warm meal every Tuesday evening. Volunteers including Maria Gibson were quick to help by organising donations and seeking support from the local community.

Maria said: “We cannot thank everyone enough for their support. The people we serve are so lovely and deserve all the help we can give. We couldn’t do it without the generosity of Mansfield’s community.”

The scheme started out as a six week initiative but due to its popularity, volunteers have decided to extend it until March 2016 to help the homeless during the winter months.

Deputy Mayor Mick Barton welcomed the group to use the area by the library as a meeting point. He said: “The work done by this group really is fantastic. They are a credit to our district. We will continue to support them until March when the initiative comes to an end.”

To find out more about how to help or to make a donation, look for Soup Kitchen Mansfield on Facebook. They are looking for donations of tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, sleeping bags, warm socks, and food items.