Prime Minister Rishi Sunak serves lunch for Big Help Out

Rishi Sunak searved lunch and talked to guests at the Mill End Community Centre in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

Diners at a lunch club said they felt "really fortunate" after a surprise visit by the prime minister as part of The Big Help Out.

Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, chopped parsnips and strawberries at Mill End Community Centre in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, before serving lunch.

Visitors to the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) club then enjoyed lamb casserole.

One of the club's regulars described it as "lovely surprise".

Peter Worthington, 89, said: "What a relaxed person... he was just like one of the crowd.

"It was a lovely surprise. What you see is what you get. We've been really fortunate."

Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, chopped parsnips and strawberries in the kitchen

The Big Help Out is organised by The Together Coalition to highlight the positive impact volunteering can have communities across the nation.

The RVS runs a lunch club at the centre from Monday to Friday, predominantly for people in the community who are removed from family networks.

Mr Sunak and Ms Murty worked in the kitchen before joining the dining room in a toast, which ended in the group saying "long live the King" and giving three cheers.

Mr Sunak and Ms Murty joined the dining room in a toast which ended in the group saying "long live the King"

Pauline Warren, who has a brain injury and struggles to cook for herself, said she made Mr Sunak laugh when he put her lunch down in front of her.

"I said I always vote for people who feed me and he thought that was quite funny," she said.

The pair served a lamb casserole with wine to visitors

Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of RVS and co-creator of the Big Help Out campaign, said it was "absolutely amazing that they took the time to come in".

"What was really impressive was that they just wanted to help out," she said.

"They came in, they donned their pinnies, they helped prepare the lunch, served the lunch and then they spent a lot of time with a lot of care talking to the clients that came here."

The prime minister "spent a lot of time with a lot of care talking to the clients", said Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the RVS