A COMMUNITY scheme to provide elderly, ill and isolated people a helping hand could be set up in Didcot.

Staff at Didcot Day Centre have proposed a voluntary organisation, backed by Oxfordshire County Council, to help people with shopping, dog-walking, collecting prescriptions or odd jobs.

Other towns and villages across Oxfordshire have already set up Good Neighbour Schemes, where volunteers carry out tasks ranging from dropping in for a cup of tea to changing library books and helping with form-filling.

Bicester, Wantage, Letcombe Regis and Chipping Norton have similar schemes operating, while Kidlington, Charlbury and Long Hanborough have all recently been awarded start-up grants to set projects up.

Volunteers give whatever time they can, from whole days to odd hours.

Now Didcot Day Centre staff are encouraging volunteers to contact them, and hope to set up a similar scheme by the end of the year.

Manager Pauline Krason said: “We know there is an issue out there, because we see people who would benefit from it.

“The Good Neighbour Scheme is not just about older people, but people who might be ill or disabled, or maybe a young mum who needs the odd bit of help.

“It could just be befriending someone, getting their shopping for them, picking up a prescription if they are ill or walking their dog if they are in hospital.

“It is all about building a stronger community in Didcot, and finding a way to get more people involved.

“The population in Didcot is growing. We have more older and isolated people, and we want to get something positive out of that.”

While day centre staff are helping to set up the project, they would not be responsible for running it.

They want local residents and businesses to come up with ideas for how it would operate.

At a meeting to discuss the project, county council representative Angela Barnett said Good Neighbour Schemes were a way to help people keep their independence.

To volunteer, or learn more about the scheme, call Didcot Day Centre on 01235 518444.