Contact the Elderly coffee morning

Dorn said she was delighted that so much had been raised from both the refreshments and sale of donated home-made cakes and that they, "had a good turn out despite the rain."

She explained what the charity is and how the money would be use: "The charity is designed for elderly people, who either live alone or don't get many visitors, to be taken out to tea once a month. We have voluntary drivers and hostess's who provide the transport and the teas. We've held this coffee morning today to raise funds for our yearly outing, so that we can take people out somewhere special like Hurstmonceux castle."

She said that the charity is a vital lifeline for lots of people and that there are many elderly folk living in the local area who benefit greatly from the service - with two ladies being aged 100 and 101.

The profile of Contact the Elderly is being shown on the Lifeline programme on BBC1 at 5.05pm on 20th April and repeated on BBC2 on 23rd April at 2pm.

Dorn said that in the programme, Jonathon Ross will be the driver for the day taking people out to tea and she hopes that, "it will raise the charity's image and hopefully encourage more people to become involved."

For further information on the charity visit the website at www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk