Members of the Salvation Army are recruiting local organisations to bring some Christmas cheer to poor and lonely people in Keighley.

Groups including the Rotary Club of Keighley, the Senior Health Awareness project (SHAPE) and anti-drugs agency Project 6 have all shown an interest in helping the Salvation Army distribute meals on Christmas Day.

Last year the organisation dished out more than 170 meals to people living locally.

It needs extra help this year because the number of recipients is likely to increase.

Interested parties met recently to discuss a plan of action at the Salvation Army Citadel in Oakworth Road.

Salvation Army captain Len Evans is behind the move to enlist more people for the Christmas Day handout.

He said: "We have had a good response from local organisations and a number of phone calls from people offering to help.

Mr Evans said the organisation could not achieve its targets without the help of these organisations and volunteers.

"Having met as a committee we can now discuss how we can develop things in the years to come."

He said: "Instead of taking the meals to people's houses we have talked about actually having people coming in to the hall on Christmas Day, but of course that would require more volunteers."

It has been a busy five months since Mr Evans, 49, took up his post at the citadel in June.

He said: "People in Keighley have been hard-working and supportive but there is still a lot to be done within the community."

Mr Evans, originally from Neath in South Wales, joined the Salvation Army in 1966 and went into the training college in Denmark Hill, London.

After his commission at the Royal Albert Hall in 1982, he worked for seven years in various towns in Somerset before moving to the Kingswood area of Bristol for a further five years.

He spent 18 months in Taunton, Somerset, and a similar period in Roche, near Truro, Cornwall, before moving to Keighley.

Anyone who would like to volunteer their help for the Salvation Army's Christmas Day meal delivery service can contact Mr Evans on (01535) 603494.

The organisation is also appealing for donations of unwanted toys to be distributed to children this year.

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