Residents of a village who have been left potentially out of pocket and without food for their Christmas dinners have joined up to help those affected.
When Whitwell's butchers in Easington Colliery on the County Durham coast closed unexpectedly this week it left many in the village concerned about money they'd already paid for orders that hadn't been delivered.
A notice served by bailiffs on Tuesday evening showed that they were able to recover outstanding debts by a High Court order. The shop has subsequently remained closed with the owners not responding to messages or phone calls.
Read more: Villagers shocked as butcher vanishes after taking payment for Christmas hampers
Many in the village, potentially up to 150, had been paying in installments in advance for Christmas hampers. Others who had ordered their Christmas turkeys and paid in advance have also been left in the dark.
However, residents from the village and further afield, along with charity Feeding Families, have worked together to donate money and buy food for those who need it. One person who helped buy the food after organising the donations, has said that they've been able to buy enough food "to help about 100 people."
In addition to the local community's contributions, Feeding Families, a foodbank charity based in Gateshead who operate throughout the North East, wrote on Facebook that when they heard the news that Whitwell's had closed, "leaving 120 families without the Christmas food they had saved for, we sprang into action."
Staff at the charity were due to have their Christmas lunch today, but they gave it up in order to deliver the food to Easington Colliery.
The food hampers delivered by Feeding Families to Easington Colliery. (Image: Louise Penders/Facebook)
Juliet Sanders, CEO and founder of Feeding Families told The Northern Echo: "When we heard that so many had been let down for Christmas in Easington Colliery we were just winding up for Christmas and planning our staff lunch. However we couldn’t ignore the need so lunch was cancelled and within a short time we had completely filled our van with 120 Christmas food boxes and bags and 60 joints of meat.
"Supporting our local communities in times of need is what we stand for and we were able to rise to this challenge due to the generosity of donors who give food and money. We hope we have made Christmas a little brighter for those affected and many more in the region."
Turkeys bought by the people of Easington Colliery after receiving donations (Image: Louise Penders/Facebook)
Because of the overwhelming nature of donations and the abundance of food, the community has been able to help more than just those affected by the closure of Whitwell's and have opened the doors of Easington Social Welfare Centre to anybody who's feeling the pinch this Christmas.
Easington's residents used the donations and went to Morrisons in Hartlepool, where they were able to help out by offering a discount on all the food that they were buying.
Mark Monroe, Store Manager at Hartlepool Morrisons said: "When we heard about the situation, we wanted to step in and help the local community, especially when it's so close to Christmas. Our skilled team of butchers made sure that everyone went home with the quality produce that they were looking for, with 10% off as a gesture of goodwill."
Juliet added: "It's amazing what can happen when people pull together."
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Easington Colliery was home to the last coal mine to close in County Durham, which resulted in the loss of 1,400 jobs in 1993. It was later used as the location for filming Billy Elliot - standing in as the fictional village of Everington.
Whitwells did not respond to The Northern Echo's requests for comment.
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