RESCUING older people from the “downward spiral” of loneliness at Christmas needn’t be a chore, as a group of creative Lye Valley residents have found.

In September, five friends set up a crafts group at Bullingdon Community Centre aimed at giving older people a place to socialise.

Now the group has finished its first major creation – a blanket for Sobell House Hospice at the Churchill Hospital – and has already got to work making more.

This winter the Oxford Mail’s Lonely this Christmas campaign aims to raise £5,600 for Age UK Oxfordshire for its efforts to combat the crippling effects of loneliness in older people – something the craft group’s 18 members are keenly aware of.

Regular Jasmine Wilson, 65, of Dean Road, said: “We were set up by Shirley Nelder, who held a MacMillan coffee morning while her husband was dying.

“It started off with her needing some support and the few people that came became very good friends. We decided it ought to be extended to others.”

With funding from Oxford City Council and the help of community development officer Alan Foulkes, the group secured a monthly session at the Peat Moors centre.

Alongside the blankets, its regular visitors have recently learned how to make Christmas wreaths and enjoyed talks and outings to the cinema.

Mrs Wilson added: “It’s just about pulling people who are lonely together. The older population is growing and it’s a big problem I doubt very many people are aware of.

“When I retired I suddenly had no purpose.

“I’d worked all my life as a nurse, my husband had died and my children had flown the nest. I didn’t know anybody in my own road and I had absolutely nothing.

“Mentally, if you are feeling low and know no one is going to see you all day or all week, you go into a downward spiral.”

Over the course of a month members of the group pitched in to help create a beautiful patchwork blanket that will now be used in the conservatory at Sobell House.

Participants have since turned their hands to knitting a series of smaller lap blankets they want to distribute among lonely older people in the area as Christmas presents.

Mr Foulkes said: “This group started on the internet on StreetLife and met at people’s houses, but wanted to offer what they did to more people.

“Someone might be older, but that doesn’t mean they have little to offer or aren’t keen to learn things. These sessions bring friendship, creativity and positivity.”

Every year hundreds of isolated older people are brought some comfort by Age UK Oxfordshire, which recruits ‘Phone Friends’ volunteers to call once a week for a chat.

Ten kind-hearted people are being sought to become Phone Friends and all readers are encouraged to donate, or hold their own Christmas parties for lonely neighbours.

Last weekend the charity’s annual ‘Golden Sunday’ event featured venues around Oxford serving up Christmas lunch older people.

Mrs Wilson was among the lucky few to be treated to lunch at the Varsity Club in High Street.

She said: “I have been wondering how to say thank you. I was overwhelmed by their kindness.”

HOW YOU CAN 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 AUKO52 £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