Dartmouth's newly launched foodbank went into action to help one desperate resident even before it was officially opened.

And it has already had another resident referred to the charity from Dartmouth Caring, town councillor David Gent has revealed.

The Dartmouth Foodbank, set up to help hungry and vulnerable families feed themselves, was launched with the backing of various church and town charities.

It is open at the Townstal Community Hall every Wednesday between noon and 2pm.

Cllr Gent, who chairs the newly-formed foodbank committee, told Dartmouth town councillors this week: 'We had our first customer last week and we were not even officially open. It has really taken off already. We have had a second customer referred to us by Dartmouth Caring.'

He said kind-hearted residents had already begun helping the charity campaign with donations of food.

And a charity stall last Saturday in Dartmouth Market brought in another £112 for the charity effort.

Miss Shepherd was one of the volunteers manning the market stall.

She said: 'People were amazing. We did not have a price on any of it and we were asking them to put in what ever they could afford and they were putting in way more than I would have thought of asking.

'It was also a great chance to talk to people about what the foodbank is all about.

'It was very heart warming how supportive people were.'

The foodbank idea was launched at the beginning of the year with a series of public meetings.

One of the leading figures behind the scheme, Dawn Shepherd, highlighted the project earlier this month at a public meeting in Townstal involving Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston when she invited the MP to one of its meetings.

Cllr Gent said that following the start-up meeting the group had been given space in the community hall to store and distribute the food.

The organisers reckon they have already identified more than a dozen families in Dartmouth alone who could have need of the foodbank's services.