REDUCING social isolation among elderly and vulnerable people can be as simple as putting the kettle on and opening your door.

That's the message from Contact the Elderly, which runs free monthly tea parties in homes, village halls, and sheltered accommodation across the county.

The charity is looking more volunteers to open up their home and their heart for a few hours, and host a tea party.

"It’s all about vulnerability and the difference you can make to the lives of the older people in our area.," said local co-ordinator Sandy Davies.

"Our older guests often tell us that our tea and friendship recipe works better than any medicine."

Tea party guest Dorothy said: “Contact means a lot to me. There is always something to look forward to – friends to meet, ideas to be exchanged.

"Time goes all too quickly but when we say goodbye we all feel that the loneliness has been lifted, that we have plenty of friends and kind people that really care and that we all have another get-together to look forward to.”

Parties are for groups of up to eight regular guests, who are picked up and driven to a host’s home for tea, chat and companionship.

Hosting is flexible, and volunteers need only commit to one or two Sundays a year.

The charity is also looking for local drivers and bakers to get involved too.

Contact the Elderly celebrates its golden jubilee year, and has just launched its #PowerofContact campaign - which aims to double the number of older people it works with.

The idea behind the campaign is to highlight the importance of face-to-face contact for isolated older people.

Pembrokeshire residents who are interested in joining the local Contact the Elderly group, can contact Sandy on 01437 711335 or by emailing pembscte@outlook.

"If we tackle the issue of loneliness, we will all reap the rewards, as it is beneficial for both young and old to interact and learn from each other," said Sandy.