EARLY morning Metro passengers will get a tasty treat today, when church volunteers hand out free breakfast bags.

Commuters using Byker and Longbenton Metro stations in Newcastle will be met by members of the nearby Heaton Baptist Church.

The breakfast bags are the idea of the Reverend Phil Lightbody of the church, who has the blessing of Metro operator, Nexus for the charitable act.

Mr Lightbody says the idea was to give the people of his parish a different form of blessing as a way of reaching out to the church's local community.

Volunteers from the Heaton Baptist Church will hand out the breakfast bags to commuters boarding and leaving trains at Byker and Longbenton Metro stations between 7.30am and 9.30am.

The bags will each contain a piece of fruit, a cereal bar, a yoghurt, fruit juice, a spoon and a napkin.

Mr Lightbody will also place a brief message in each of the bags telling Metro passengers who provided their breakfast and explaining where to go for spiritual nourishment.

But he says the idea is not to ram religion down people's throats. Instead he and the volunteers will be available for those who want to talk about religion but will not pressurise those who do not.

He said: "The church is often seen as an organisation that just wants to take from people, especially money. But we wanted to give something to the people who live and work in our community and this seemed a good way to do it. It's a different kind of blessing.

Metro director Ken Mackay said: "It's a nice gesture and should go down well."