Groups that host monthly tea parties for elderly people are urging volunteers to get involved as they celebrate their Golden Jubilee.

Elderly people and volunteers celebrated the charity Contact the Elderly’s Golden Jubilee with a special ‘Big FifTEA’ party.

The charity, which aims to relieve the acute loneliness of isolated older people aged 75 and over, organises monthly Sunday tea parties supported by a network of volunteer drivers and hosts.

The tea parties provide elderly people with much-needed regular face-to-face contact at the 570 groups and more than 7,500 volunteers across the UK.

However the Harrow group are now urging more volunteers to get involved.

Vivien Raggett, a Contact the Elderly volunteer from Harrow, said: “Every month I see the difference that the tea parties we hold here in Harrow make to local older people who are lonely and isolated.

“Friendships have formed between younger volunteers and older guests, who really look forward to spending an afternoon having a tea, cake and a good chat.”

For more information on how to volunteer with Contact the Elderly or to come along to a tea party, visit: www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk or free phone 0800 716 543.