TWO Somerset firms united in the Christmas spirit to enable people to enjoy a free festive feast.

When Chris Ball, services manager at the Argos Distribution Centre in Bridgwater, suggested staff members could be given the option of donating their free Christmas meal to people more in need, workers jumped at the opportunity.

But as organisation continued, Mr Ball realised transport would be an issue.

“Argos generously provides a free Christmas meal to staff every year," said Mr Ball, who works at the Argos depot on the Huntworth Business Park.

“This year, I thought it would be great to offer colleagues the opportunity to donate their free meal to members of the local community who are less privileged.

“I found a contact at Grace Advocacy who works with the local foodbank and was able to identify a group of people and it all went from there.

“This is not something that we’ve ever done before here in Bridgwater.

“Originally, we were not planning on getting involved with transportation, but it became apparent that if we could not organise something, the whole endeavour would fail.

“I had thought about arranging a minibus, but this would have severely restricted the numbers."

It was then that another Somerset firm's role in the plan emerged.

"A colleague here suggested that Bakers Dolphin might be able to help, so I reached out to them and I was delighted when they said yes," he continued.

“I would like to thank Bakers Dolphin for their kind assistance and support in getting everyone to and from our site in order to enjoy a complimentary Christmas meal.”

Amanda Harrington, sales and marketing director at Bakers Dolphin, said: “When we heard that the staff at the Argos site were willing to give up their Christmas dinners for those less fortunate than themselves, we knew that the seasonal spirit was very much alive and well in Bridgwater.

“It would have been a tragic shame if those deserving people had not been able to enjoy the meal because they had not been able to get there, so we were only too pleased to have been able to provide one of our coaches.

“The Argos team made a very generous gesture and the least we could do was to support this in the best way we could.”