PENSIONERS in Oxford were treated to a festive feast this week by a social club that seeks to tackle loneliness in the elderly.

Around 65 guests tucked into a three-course Christmas lunch on Thursday organised by the Gladiator Club,

The free annual meal marked it’s fifth year at the Principal Oxford Spires Hotel, in Abingdon Road.

Julie Weller, who helped put on the event, said: "It was amazing and the food was fantastic, the best ever, and would not have been possible without the hard work of volunteers.

"It's such an important event because a lot of older people are widowers or suffer from loneliness and isolation. If they are at home they likely won't make the effort to cook a meal like this for themselves."

She said the event was funded via a dice game the members of the Iffley Road club's weekly over 60s group Sweet Memories play.