Vulnerable elderly residents can be sure of a hot meal this winter thanks to a lifesaving donation from Totnes Rotary Club.

The Totnes Caring hot meals service was under threat due to rising costs but local Rotarians stepped in with a £2,500 donation to save its bacon.

Now the charity can continue supplying at least 100 weekly hot meals during the colder months, both at its lunch club and via its volunteer-run home delivery service.

Chief executive Claire Hill said the charity is “very grateful” to Rotary, adding: “The lunch clubs are a social occasion, and a wonderful chance for older people to feel less isolated by meeting people in a warm space and enjoy a cooked meal together.The delivery of meals also enables us to check weekly on the welfare of our clients.”

Rotary president Stephen Evans said: “We have always had a great relationship with Totnes Caring and wanted to ensure the much needed meal provision services were maintained, particularly in the critical months of January to March, so it is with real pleasure that we have been able to help in this way.”