THE Young at Heart Club, founded by Wellington couple Lloyd and Diana Yorke, has featured on TV.

The club, which provides day services for older people in Somerset and Devon, was contacted by ITV Westcountry to feature in a piece highlighting loneliness and rural isolation among older people.

Ben McGrail, the ITV Westcountry correspondent, spent most of the day filming and speaking with club members as they enjoyed a Christmas party.

Members from Wellington, Tiverton and Cullompton enjoyed party games and entertainment, plus a two-course Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, followed by a carol service. Magician Paul Preager, from Bristol, provided the entertainment, amusing club members with incredible illusions.

A second reporter was also at the club from the ‘Express and Echo’/‘Devon Life’ who compiled a piece about memories of Christmas, comparing the past with the current day.

Reporter Lewis Clarke interviewed members, including some from Wellington, and his finished footage can be viewed on social media via the Young at Heart Club’s website, www.youngatheart.club.

Lloyd Yorke said: “Since the opening of the club in April 2014 we have had 3,300 attendances. That equates to more than 17,000 hours of relief from loneliness for older people. We travelled more than 8,500 miles last year to transport rurally isolated people to our club.”

Diana Yorke said: “We are immensely proud of the service we provide for older people. We wanted to create a unique club different to any other day service and judging by our rapid growth I think we have succeeded.”

To learn more about joining the Young at Heart Club or offering to help as a volunteer visit www.youngatheart.club or phone 07704 040399.