A GROUP of pensioners has been offered free Sunday lunch at a North-East football club for the foreseeable future.

The invitation to the group of 13 elderly people, who live in sheltered accommodation in Firthmoor, Darlington, came from Stewart Davies, the chairman of Darlington Football Club, at a community partnership meeting.

Three months ago, the group, formerly known as the Sunday Lunch Club, was told it could no longer have cooked Sunday lunches at the housing complex in Roxby Court.

So, George Wilthew, a volunteer who used to help cook the meals, decided he would take the group out to lunch.

The residents do not pay for their lunches, and instead money is raised through raffles and bingo sessions.

At a meeting of the Eastbourne Community Partnership last week, Mr Davies said he wanted the football club to get more involved in the local community.

And as part of that pledge, he invited the elderly diners to enjoy a free Sunday lunch at the club once a month.

Mr Wilthew said it was a brilliant offer and he would be talking to the residents, who are in their 70s, 80s and 90s, about the invitation when he next saw them.

Steve Rose, chief executive of Darlington Partnership, said: "We are delighted when local businesses get engaged with the regeneration of the area through partnership working."

A spokesman for Darlington Football Club said: "This is a gesture to a neighbour typical of Stewart Davies who is determined to put the football club at the centre of the community."