'Exhausted' Gloucester food charity founder to take a break

Hash Norat said he has been working 80-hour weeks

A man who set up a charity to serve hot food to vulnerable people has said unfortunately he has to put the meals on hold as it is affecting his health.

Hash Norat runs Gloucester Feed The Hungry, providing about 100 meals a night, alongside a full-time job.

Food parcels and other deliveries from the charity will continue but Mr Norat said he was devastated that he has to pause serving people hot meals.

"If I don't take a break now, I might not be around," Mr Norat said.

"I'm that exhausted."

Mr Norat has been working 80 hours a week for the past two years and is appealing for more funding for his hot meals service as he can not afford to give up work and run the charity.

"It's got to the point where my kids said 'shut the charity down', but I can't.

"I can't have a meal if they haven't had a meal.

"As a Muslim part of our faith is that your neighbour eats first, that's been drilled into me from a young age," Mr Norat said.

Mr Norat and his team of volunteers have provided thousands of hot meals in the city

Some of the people who use the service told the BBC that it was a "massive help" and that it "brightens up" their day.

They have since expressed concern there was nowhere else for them to go.

With energy prices set to rise and the cost of living increasing, Mr Norat said he believed his charity would be needed even more in the future.

"They're not turning up for a box of chocolates.

"They're turning up for basic necessities, and for us, we don't want anything in return.

"Some very dark days are about to hit us and I don't wish any family or individual to think food comes secondary."

Mr Norat has vowed to bring back the evening meal service as soon as he has recovered.