Support students in a Suffolk school have begun spending valuable time with local care home residents with their elders as part of a ground-breaking scheme.

The British Red Cross revealed that over half of over 55’s who experience loneliness felt that something would happen to them and no-one will notice.

17-year-old Kyra Nel and Anna Morley and 18-year-old Chloe Jackson are sixth-formers at Thomas Gainsborough School now make weekly visits to Hillside Care Home.

YOPEY Befriends was set up to encourage volunteers to visit care homes near their school to help ease loneliness while the volunteers learn life volunteers and vital skills for the future.

The three young students have been involved in the project for over a year.

Resident Dorothy Dot said: “It’s lovely to see their smile; it’s worth a million dollars.”

Joleen Anderson, the manager of Hillside Care Home, said the students were a real asset and appreciated the time they spent with the residents.

Ms Nel said: “I think it’s really rewarding and if you are brightening up someone’s day it somehow brightens your day.

“It’s nice to know that we have done something to them and we can see what a difference it makes to them.”