A CHRISTMAS lunch has been organised to bring locals together who would otherwise have to spend the festive period alone.

The communal free Christmas dinner will take place at The Balliol Hall in West Huntspill on Saturday December 23.

Organised by Nicola Doble and her daughter-in-law Chantelle Sear, the touching act of goodwill was inspired initially by a man from Brent Knoll who they encountered whilst Christmas shopping in 2021.

Chantelle and her daughter Ava were speaking to a man who was buying paper plates, when he explained to them he'd be spending Christmas alone and was buying the disposable crockery so he didn't have to wash up.

"It pulled on our heart strings so we decided to do this (the Christmas dinner) last year," Nicola explained.

"Unfortunately we were unable to locate the gentleman."

The 2022 Christmas dinner brought 32 people from across Highbridge, Burnham-on-Sea, and surrounding areas together to spend Christmas Day with company whilst enjoying the traditional food.

If this is something you're interested in or you know someone else who may be, call 07387 292546, or email christmaslunch2022@yahoo.com.

"We had some lovely feedback, people saying how lovely it was to talk to people they didn’t know before," Nicola said.

Each guest was also sent home with a gift to open on Christmas morning.

Although last year's event was largely self-funded, donations from Burnham-on-Sea Lions, Home Instead Weston and various other people helped Nicola and Chantelle's idea to become a reality.