THE vicar of a Flintshire church which has fed people during the Christmas period for the last decade says this years event will be its busiest yet.

St Peter's in Holywell is once again offering its free Christmas Day lunch to the community.

That will be the church's eighth event of its kind, following a two-year gap during the Covid pandemic when a delivery service was implemented instead.

St Peter's' Father Dominic Cawdell said that this year is set to be the 'busiest' Christmas Day yet for the church.

Read more: Heroic Asda driver hailed 'life saver' after hearing 90-year-old's distress signal

The scheme will ensure that nearly 100 people (correct at time of writing) in the local community will enjoy a three-course dinner, followed by a song or two.

Father Cawdell, who has been a part of St Peter's Church for the last two years, said: "It's been very different to normal, we have even had people wanting to just come along to be warm on Christmas Day.

"People are coming along for a number of different reasons. From people who are lonely, to people who feel they just cannot afford to enjoy Christmas Day as they normally would.

"More families with young children have been getting in touch with us to say they're worried."

The Leader:

PIC: Father Dominic Cawdell of St Peter's Church, Holywell.

Father Cawdell explained that, as well as seeing an increase in the number of people who are seeking help, the church has also seen a rise in the number of people offering to help out.

He added: "The dinners have become a very important provision within our community at Christmas time.

"We have had so many more offers from people wanting to help this year too, it's heart-warming."

On top of keeping people fed on Christmas Day, the team at St Peter's also offers a '£2 food club' via 'The Table' scheme between 12pm and 1.30pm on Mondays which offer further meals to members of the community.

On one Monday in November, they served just shy of 200 people.

The Table has been running in St Peter’s since the beginning of the pandemic and has supported over 3,000 people.