A scheme has been set up which allows members of the community to donate a Christmas dinner to someone in need through their local pub.

It is currently running in Coleorton but can be accessed from the Coalville area - and organiser Matt Foster is prepared to extend it to other areas showing an interest ahead of the festive period.

The idea behind it is that participating pubs operate a 'pay it forward' plan.

This means you can order a meal and they pay for another which is the donated to people who will not be having dinner at Christmas.

That could mean people who are on their own or are vulnerable.

Matt Foster is running the scheme and it is based on the website The Staying Inn which was already online.

He told Coalville Nub News about the scheme.

"It's worth going back a little bit, when we went into lockdown one in the spring, I built a website to help the local community understand where they can still go to eat and drink," said Matt.

"Some of the local pubs maintained takeout or delivery services.

"What I was trying to do was connect people in the community to those places. And also to help those places earn an income as well.

"So that we had that symbiotic relationship. Which I think is more important in the rural type communities. That worked really well, and it continued all the way into the summer, then during the second lockdown.

"Then, knowing that we were going to be in tier three, and the Government's announcement that about the rule of three families at Christmas, it made me think again about the local community and how my website could help again.

"So I then thought about the concept of paying it forward. I worked in Glasgow a number of years ago, there was a coffee shop there that allowed you to buy a coffee for yourself and buy a coffee for a stranger.

"That meant a homeless person could walk into the shop and simply ask for a coffee, and if somebody had already paid for it, they could have a coffee for free.

"This kind of got into my head and I got to thinking about the elderly members of the community that would've been spending Christmas with their family, but probably now won't.

"Perhaps as a result, they might may not even bother making themselves a Christmas dinner.

"Then there are members of the community that have lost their jobs recently. Lots of people are

help the local community.

The pubs are: The Cross Keys, Newbold WEBSITE

The George & Dragon, Thringstone WEBSITE

The Angel, The Moor, Coleorton WEBSITE

Matt added: "I pitched the idea of paying it forward to them, for a Christmas dinner based on their Christmas menu, and they were all up for it.

"It means they get more customers because people are paying for dinners, but also, they get to help out the local community, one of the pubs will even deliver the food.

"We've got neighbours who are phoning the pubs, and donating Christmas dinners. Some of the neighbours have even offered to run a delivery service.

"We have members of the community who are able unable to collect a dinner themselves, so this is really taking off.

"But I want to make sure now that people know the scheme exists, and that they are invited now to come and take advantage of the free Christmas dinners."

Matt says that anyone who wants to take advantage of the scheme should not be worried about what will said to them or what they will have to prove.

"There are no questions asked," he added.

"One of the things I agreed with the pubs, was that it was difficult enough for somebody to ask for something free like this when they're at their most vulnerable.

"Therefore, the policy is that all someone needs to do is phone up one of these pubs that's running the scheme, and order a dinner.

"And if there is a donation available, they will be given that dinner.

"We on't ask for proof of hardship, no one has to prove loneliness

"We know probably some people will take advantage, but we are prepared for that.

"These are local community pubs, these are great dinners, but there is an inappropriateness in asking people to prove hardship when you're offering something for free.

"It's an honesty box type of scheme.

"People are very excited about it, we only launched it last week, the Cross Keys in Newbold are involved and then we brought the other two pubs online as well.

"The message I want to put out there as well is that it's not necessarily restricted to our local community, but if there are others nearby who want to run a similar scheme, I'm here to help."

Matt explained his reasons behind organising the scheme.

"I come from quite a big family and have five brothers and we all live here in the Midlands," he said.

"Unfortunately this Christmas, because of the rule of three, we're not all going to be together this Christmas.

"This year, it isn't really a choice, it's going to be hard for me not to see my mother on Christmas Day, she's going to want to see her grandchildren which means she can't see some of the other family members.

"I was thinking how hard it will be on her, but also how hard it is on people who have absolutely nobody and they will be alone at Christmas because of this rule that has been introduced.

"I realise there will be a lot of people worse off than me.

That's where it came from, I already had the website up and running. So it made sense. I work in Internet marketing, I'm a project manager for a rail company. It's in my skillset to do this."