PUBS in York are 'brewing good cheer' by holding Christmas dinners for volunteers of a local charity.

Volunteers from the St Vincent de Paul Charity, which works to tackle loneliness and poverty, were treated to a Christmas feast at the Derwent Arms in Osbaldwick on Tuesday.

The lunch was the first of three by different pubs across York as part of Heineken’s ‘Brewing Good Cheer’ campaign, which encourages pubs to bring those in socially isolated situations together through lunches.

The dinner also helped mark pub owner Susan King's 50th year running the Derwent Arms, which over the last five years has helped raise more than £35,000 for charities.

Susan said: “Having been bereaved, I know how hard it can be to go out on your own.

“I’m a firm believer that friendly pubs like The Derwent Arms can help prevent loneliness. We have lots of people who feel comfortable coming in on their own to enjoy a chat with others or for one of our Saturday entertainment nights. Christmas is about giving back and recognising St Vincent De Paul’s work felt the right way to do it."

The Gillygate pub hosted 20 volunteers on Wednesday lunchtime and The Marcia Inn in Bishopthorpe will be cooking up a storm on January 8.

Brian Furey, owner of The Gillygate, said that every landlord should give back to the community and bring people together at Christmas.

He said: "It’s important to let people know they can come together and I think a pub is always a place for social interactions.

“There were 22 local volunteers from St Vincent de Paul Charity and I hope they enjoyed the Christmas dinner we put on for them.”