VOLUNTEERS handed out more than 50 hot meals on Christmas Day.

All Saints Church saw volunteers and even homeless people come together to give something back to the community, with the earliest arriving at 7am.

This was the first time the church had hosted an event such as this, taking place in the Thomas Smith Hall.

Breakfast was served between 8am and 10am, with Christmas lunches being handed out from 2pm

Helen Rhodes, one of the organisers, said: "Free help creates huge amounts of love, and our humble hall was bursting with love and good will. A sumptuous three course meal was served: soup, followed by turkey with all the trimmings - sprouts, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes and parsnips, with lashings of gravy, followed by trifle and Christmas pudding.

"For a bit of fun we had beautiful Christmas crackers to make it all as special as all the people who came to us.

"Thank you to our guests who gave us the opportunity to serve them, and by their presence made us all come together in the love of God."

The church, on Sutton Road in Southend, supplies breakfast every Tuesday from 8am to 11am.