A Witham charity has hit a major milestone after staging more than 1,500 food collections and preventing more than 100 tonnes of food from going into landfill.

The Witham Hub, at the Grove Shopping Centre, launched its community fridge in 2019 and has helped many families and individuals during their time of need.

The food saved and donated by Witham residents has helped support others who are struggling with rising costs.

Volunteers go out to collect the food and help to run the community service.

Tina Townsend, chair of the hub’s trustees, said: “We are extremely proud of the success of the community fridge and the amount of food that has been saved from going to landfill.

“This is particularly important during these difficult times as the food we have saved has helped many local people.

“A big thank you to all the collection team who go out in all weathers to collect the food.

“The number of interventions is bittersweet because we are sad that we’ve had to be there to such an extent, but we are pleased that we were able to step in when we were most needed.

“The volunteers work extremely hard to do all they can to support everyone that needs us - they are an amazing team.”