LONELY pensioners across Hyndburn could be set for a visit from Santa this Christmas.

Care company Home Instead Senior Care has joined forces with Oswaldtwistle firm Millercare to launch a gift-giving scheme.

‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ will see presents given to the elderly in Hyndburn who might be lonely or might not otherwise get a gift during the festive period.

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Millercare, at Paddock Mill in Moscow Mill Street, will be receiving gifts until Friday, December 12, and both companies will be at Blackburn Market on Wednesday, December 3 and Friday, December 5 to collect donations.

Kind-hearted strangers who give a gift will be able to fill out a gift tag with a message.

Home Instead Blackburn owner Peter Catlow said: “We are really excited about the launch of this scheme and are delighted Millercare worked with us to allow us to distribute gifts to people who really need them.

“Our clients are assured of regular company from their caregivers but we are hoping the ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ will allow us to reach out to the many older people, who perhaps don’t receive as many visitors as our clients and who would really appreciate knowing that local people are thinking about them at Christmas.”

Millercare spokesman Lee Crookes said: “We are more than happy to be working with Home Instead and helping to make ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ a huge success, and we are looking forward to receiving donations to support the elderly.”

A spokesman for mental health charity Mind said: “Loneliness can have a significant impact on mental health. It can contribute to problems such as anxiety or depression. Loneliness has many different causes and affects people differently. Often people feel lonely because of their personal circumstances. But sometimes loneliness is a deeper, more constant feeling that comes from within.

“For many people, overcoming loneliness is about increasing the level of social contact they have with other people, and there are different ways to do this.”

Gifts can be donated, unwrapped, to Millercare, at Blackburn Markets on December 3 and 5. Call Home Instead on 01254 471992 or Millercare on 01254 234426.