The owners of The Larder Oakham will be on the road in Rutland tomorrow (Fri) delivering 150 home-cooked meals to around 40 elderly and vulnerable people.

It's the first day of drop-offs for Alyson Kyle and Iain Stares as part of their new free service to help those struggling to get out and food shop or secure home deliveries in the current coronavirus outbreak.

And the pair has plenty more healthy oven-ready and frozen meals available.

Alyson told Oakham Nub News: "We are aiming to make deliveries twice a week - with tomorrow's meals lasting until the next drop-off.

"We are delighted to have been contacted by a sheltered housing charity, so 30 of their residents will be receiving our meals tomorrow.

"The other deliveries are to a mixture of people including an elderly lady whose son is self-isolating, another lady with cerebral palsy and a family with four children, one of whom has autism.

"All are finding it hard to get out to buy food and are exactly the people we can and want to help.

"I know people are often reluctant to ask for help but I would urge anyone - whether elderly, self-isolating, key workers or vulnerable - to get in touch with us.

"We have plenty of food to go around and are so grateful to the amazing community for supporting us by continuing to donate to our JustGiving page.

"We wanted to do something to help in these difficult times and it's fantastic that we have the resources and ability to do so."

Alyson and Iain were prepared to foot the bill for the food and deliveries themselves, but the JustGiving fundraising page they launched for anyone who wanted to contribute has already smashed through its £1,000 target - with pledges now amounting to more than £1,400.

While they are able and willing to make deliveries, Alyson and Iain are still urgently seeking an organisation or charity to take up this side of the service so they can concentrate on cooking.

A dedicated email address - [email protected] - has been set up for any organisation or charity that can help with food deliveries or anyone who wants to request a food drop-off. Alyson can also be contacted on 07980 827189.

The Justgiving page for donations can be found here. All monies raised will be used for making and distributing meals, with any money remaining donated to a local charity.