How an isolated village is tackling loneliness

Maria Steele set up the coffee morning to help those feeling isolated

A few miles from Carnforth is the picturesque village of Nether Kellet, which is home to fewer than 1,000 people.

There is no village shop and a limited bus service, which had led to some residents feeling isolated.

But once a week there is a coffee morning called a Hug in a Mug.

The gathering was set up after the coronavirus pandemic by Maria Steele, who recognised that some residents needed an excuse to socialise.

"We're quite a rural setting, we have a lot of elderly people in the village who may struggle to get out and about," she said.

"The fact that this is right on their doorstep, a warm place to come and just meet people, feeling valued."

During the meeting, a nurse visits to carry out health checks as well as a representative from Age UK Lancashire, who can provide information on a range of topics from will writing to scam awareness.

Nether Kellet is situated a few miles south of Lancaster

Ruth Abram, who is a rural outreach officer for Community Futures, said she believed every village needed a point of contact to help those who felt isolated.

"Rural communities are often misunderstood," she said. "I think there's a preconception of wealth and affluence and often that's not the case.

"There's a lot of services that have been cut, there's a lot of things that don't happen anymore, bus services, transport and things like that.

"Health care is now out of those areas and people struggle."

Ruth Abram said a lot of people felt they were cut off

Ms Steele said the community had rallied together to help those who needed it.

"During Covid we set up a volunteer WhatsApp group, so that anyone can join it," she said.

"And that in the beginning was to support people with getting prescriptions and shopping when they couldn't leave the house.

"But that's carried on, so that's a great bit of resource that the whole village uses.