Pensioners all over the borough depend on the council's Meals on Wheels service for both food and daily visits from friendly faces.

Service users have spoken about how important Sutton Council's Meals on Wheels is to them while the volunteers who run the service - including a woman who is 86 herself - have said how they plan to keep up the service's 100 per cent delivery record, whatever the weather.

Meals on Wheels delivers a hot meal to up to 280 pensioners across Sutton each day. Deliveries are done in rounds of around 30 people at a time at lunchtime everyday including weekends and bank holidays. People pay £3.60 for hot meals, which can be anything from an all-day breakfast to a curry, with clients getting a choice each day, and have the option of paying a further £1.55 for an evening meal.

Steve Winser, manager of Sutton Council's Meals on Wheels Service,  said: "Sutton Council has never missed a Meals on Wheels delivery and we don't intend to start now. We are something of a fourth emergency service to many of the borough's ageing population.

"It's not just that we provide food, company and someone to talk to, but being in regular contact means we can check up on them and see they're doing OK"

Alex Wills, 93, of Carshalton has been getting food from Meals on Wheels every day for over two years after a stay in hospital. He said: "Meals on Wheels is an essential service - it's the tent pole that keeps the tent up.

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Alex Wills getting ready to tuck into an all-day breakfast delivered last week

"It's a hot meal, which maintains life, and it's a link with the outside world. You form a relationship with these delightful ladies and gentlemen."

Joy Francis, 90, from North Cheam, added: "I'm so grateful to these people who give up their time to do this. There's no point beating about the bush - without them we'd be dead."

Among the 80 volunteers who work for the service is 86-year-old Kath Prosser who has been working with Meals on Wheels for 26 years and has made more than 200,000 deliveries. She said: "I live by myself so it's nice to be able to meet up with people and be useful. It's such an important service and I'm pleased to be a part of it."

The service is organised by Carshalton Association for the Elderly and Sutton Old People's Welfare Association. To volunteer contact Mr Winser on 0208 770 4542.