Warm hub preparing for colder temperatures

Venues offering a warm drink and support services are expecting a busy few days as temperatures drop.

Warm welcome venues are located across Surrey, including one at the Dorking Christian Centre run by the Rev David Pitkeathly and a team of volunteers.

He told BBC Radio Surrey it was important to offer somewhere people could come and get warm first thing in the morning.

Towns such as Dorking can from the outside be seen as affluent, he said, but they are not immune from hardship.

"Dorking has all the same economic challenges that every community faces, there are members of the population facing significant financial economic pressures," he added.

"We have queues every Tuesday and Thursday for the foodbank here and I meet people with painful stories of how hard life has hit them.

"We are here to offer some support and compassion, it's so important to open the door and say 'come on in'."

Every weekday from 08:30 GMT the venue offers a simple breakfast and hot drinks.

Paul Amor regularly uses the hub, and said those he met with there "all look after each other".

He added: "It's very important, I have bunch of friends here, they can't afford to go to a café in the town."

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