SOMETIMES it’s not living alone that frightens people, but being by yourself when you are old and vulnerable.

Irene Edwards, who lives in sheltered accommodation in Summertown, left home as a young woman in the 1960s with just her dog Trudi for company.

She has been by herself ever since.

Now aged 86, the former librarian is worried about her health and that she will have no friends or family to call in a crisis.

On Christmas Day, she will heat up a frozen dinner from Wiltshire Farm Foods, a door-to-door meals delivery firm.

She said: “More than likely I will only see the helper on the day. I’m not expecting to spend it with anyone.

“For one thing, at a care home we would have a Christmas meal, in a dining room, and there would be someone to call on. You could do whatever you wanted to do.”

Her last surviving family member, a brother named Raymond, died in 1999 and she has no close friends in Oxford or further afield.

She said: “To move to a care home is what I think I need, where you have people around, and if you have a problem there’s someone there.

“I have aortic thrombosis and wear a pacemaker, and collitis, which is to do with the colon.

“When you get older little things bother you more. I’ve become very clumsy with my hands and keep dropping things and knocking things over. I can’t do things I could do when I was younger.

“I’ve always been a loner and looked after myself, but now I’m at the stage where it would be nice to have people to depend on.”

Although Miss Edwards has a carer who calls once a day to help her wash and dress, she has experienced loneliness and has not established firm friendships with others in the building. To pass the time she enjoys puzzle books and quizzes.

On Monday mornings Miss Edwards receives a call from Claire, a Phone Friend volunteer at Age UK Oxfordshire, for a natter about the week’s events.

She said: “It’s nice just to have a chat with someone. She asks me how I am and I update her on anything that’s happened to me recently.

“It’s just a general chat, like you might have with someone at the supermarket. Just talking to someone has helped.”

An online fundraising page has been launched. For more information or to donate, visit campaign.justgiving.com/charity/ageukoxfordshire/endloneliness

HOW CAN YOU HELP

* Donate to the Lonely this Christmas appeal, which is aiming to raise £5,400 by Christmas to support Age UK Oxfordshire and its and Phone Friends service. Text AUKO22 £3 to 70070 to give £3 or visit campaign.justgiving.com/charity/ageukoxfordshire/endloneliness to pledge an amount of your choice.

* Volunteer with Age UK Oxfordshire. Ten new recruits are being sought over the Christmas period. There is no set minimum age and Phone Friends can volunteer from just two hours per week. To find out more, email volunteering@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk. 

* If you’re organising a Christmas lunch for neighbours and older people who may not have anyone to share the day with, register it at communitychristmas.org.uk