ELDERLY people in Didcot who rely on volunteers to drive them to medical appointments have urged more people to donate some time.

Didcot Volunteer Centre runs the scheme, which last year gave 1,778 lifts to housebound people in the area, and has lost several of its most active drivers, and has called for more people to get behind the wheel.

Jackie Oldham, from the centre, said: “It is a very important service. We have 419 clients on our books at the moment in Didcot and the surrounding area.

“We have 22 drivers, but we are losing two.

“We are very happy for people to give just a couple of hours a week to give lifts to people, but it makes such a difference to our clients’ lives.

“All of them are either elderly or disabled and they often like to have regular drivers.

“The most common runs are to take them to hospital in Oxford, or take them to outpatient clinics or doctors' surgeries, and then wait with them before dropping them home.

“We also take clients shopping or to the hairdresser and chiropodist.”

Volunteers Don and Joyce Wise, of Barnes Close, Didcot, who are moving away from Didcot after six years of providing lifts to clients, said the service was a lifeline to many.

Since Mrs Wise, 71, started volunteering in 2004, she has provided 928 lifts to local people, while husband Don, 72, has given 700 since he joined his wife in 2006 after retiring as a cricket umpire.

Mrs Wise said: “We both love doing it. I was always a busy person before I retired, and I needed something to do.

“It is a pleasure really. A lot of people we take out do not get out very much.

“If we are going to Oxford, we try to take them through the countryside. Often they say they have had a really good day out, even if they have been taken to hospital.

“Once I was taking two ladies at once, and they realised they had not seen each other for years.”

Volunteers are re-imbursed petrol expenses, but the service means trips to Oxford cost about £15 for a return journey, compared to over £30 each way in a taxi.

l For more information about volunteering as a driver, call Ms Oldham at the centre on 01235 816709 between 10am and midday.

didcot@oxfordmail.co.uk