MEALS on Wheels volunteers are urgently required in Dacorum.

Drivers and other volunteers are needed by the service, which delivers 650 hot lunches and tea-time snacks to elderly residents across the borough each day.

Dacorum Borough Council has pledged to continue the service, even if it means paying drivers. However, it is hoping volunteers will come forward.

Executive member for community service, Councillor Julian Taunton, said: "There are a number of people who for a variety of reasons are unable to prepare meals for themselves and the Meals on Wheels service provides a lifeline for them.

"Volunteers who can offer just an hour a week can make a significant difference, but we need a regular commitment."

Deliveries take place between 11.30am and 1.15pm, seven days a week. Petrol expenses are paid to volunteer drivers and a cash incentive is offered at weekends and on Bank Holidays. An annual lunch is held for volunteers as a thank you.

Anybody interested in volunteering or helping out at the authority's lunch clubs should telephone Moira Davies on 01442 228503.