KIND-HEARTED churchgoers and members of the public gave up their Christmas Day to make sure others had a good time.

The Billericay Methodist Church held a free Christmas lunch at its Queens Park site for residents who would otherwise be on their own.

Volunteers provided transport, company and a full traditional Christmas dinner for the guests who finished the day by watching the Queen’s Speech.

Reverend David Bagwell said: “Everyone really enjoyed themselves. This is the second year we have run the event, last year we had 29 people and this year we had 40.

“We also had lots of members of the public asking if they could help this year, too. We would like to say thank you to all the volunteers from the church and public.”