WITNEY MP Robert Courts finished his annual Communities Week by training local residents to become Dementia Friends.

Mr Courts spent five days visiting local businesses, charities and volunteer groups and rounded off the week at the Corn Exchange in Witney.

After becoming a Dementia Friend shortly after he was elected in 2016, the MP wanted to encourage more people to make Witney dementia-friendly and so trained as a Dementia Friends Champion.

The role is voluntary and aims to encourage others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia.

They do this by giving people information about the personal impact of dementia, and what they can do to help.

Mr Courts said: “We are lucky to have a positive, active group in the Witney Dementia Action Alliance who are helping to ensure that we create a dementia-friendly community, and I am pleased to help with their excellent work.

“I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the attendees, and I hope that these new Dementia Friends will go on to teach more in West Oxfordshire how we can all take small actions to help those living with Dementia.”

Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative to encourage more people to understand what it is like to live with dementia, and then help to turn that understanding into action.

The Witney MP kicked off the week by hosting a first aid training session at the Corn Exchange.

He invited local shopkeepers, small business owners and members of the community to take part in the session, which was instructed by Dick Tracey from first aid training group XYZ.

The MP asked those interested in first aid training to email robert@robertcourts.co.uk.