JUBILIANT pensioners at a Halesowen day centre are celebrating after a Quinton building society stepped in to replace broken freezers which threatened to stop dinners in December.

The Coventry Building Society donated £700 to the The Halesowen Project for the Elderly at the Queensway, Centre which provides many pensioners with their only hot meal of the day.

The project has been the community partner of the Quinton branch of Coventry Building Society for five years with staff holding regular fundraising events and volunteering at the centre.

Lisa Jones, customer service assistant at Coventry Building Society, said: “This is a fantastic place, run entirely by volunteers. It provides an opportunity to take part in different activities, socialise and enjoy meals in the café.

"Unfortunately their freezers had broken, but we were able to provide a grant from the society to replace them”.

Catherine Morgan from Halesowen Project is delighted the building society footed the bill for the errant freezers.

She said: “We are really grateful to the Coventry for their support. The grant of £700 has made a huge difference."

"To replace the freezers would have been a large expense so we’re delighted the Coventry Building Society has covered the cost."

She added: "For many of the people who come to the centre, this is the only hot meal they have each day so it’s really important that we can continue to provide this much needed service”.

The Halesowen Project for the Elderly is open Monday to Friday, 10am-3pm and offers food and drinks at subsidised price at the Queensway Centre, Andrew Road.