'I'll be a care home elf on Christmas Day'

Farrah Amjad and fellow volunteers will be dishing up and delivering Christmas meals to people who might otherwise go without this year

A "care home elf" is set to spend Christmas Day delivering festive dinners to those who might otherwise go without, despite not celebrating Christmas herself.

Farrah Amjad and fellow volunteers at the Care Home Elf project will be dishing up meals to care homes in Tameside but also delivering to residents in the community.

The former district nurse said the project was first set up five years ago to deliver Christmas gifts to care home residents after she noticed that some did not receive any.

She said loneliness was also a "massive problem at the moment in the community" and so doing this "makes people feel happy and makes me feel happy".

Farrah Amjad and fellow project volunteers are working alongside a cook and staff from an Ashton-Under-Lyne care home

"This year, we wanted to do something different. We want to do the meals and deliver them out to people in the community," she said.

Ms Amjad said that while her family did not celebrate Christmas because they were not Christians they believed "that, regardless of anyone's race, religion or background, giving back to the community is really important".

She said she hoped to expand the project to cater for more people in Tameside next year.

Ms Amjad, who works for Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Trust, is running a fundraiser to support the project.

She and her volunteers have been working alongside Tameside Adult Social Care and licensing team to ensure the food can be safely delivered to people on Christmas Day.

'Fantastic initiative'

She thanked Firbank House Care Home in Ashton-Under-Lyne for supporting this year's appeal, with their chef agreeing to help prepare meals for the community.

Tameside councillor John Taylor, who has responsibility for adult social care, said the project was "a fantastic initiative" and Ms Amjad and her family "should be so proud to lead it each year".

"Through this appeal they will bring festive joy and happiness to our communities and care homes this Christmas Day," he added.