Last week saw Monmouthshire mark national Meals on Wheels Week by holding roadshows across the county.

The Community Meals Service, run by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC), delivers meals for the elderly and vulnerable.

The service, which has its depot at Raglan, has six vans all equipped with a freezer, fridge and an oven.

The Beacon was invited on the road to deliver the community meals with meal service provider Chris Preece.

"As a meal service provider I deliver meals once a day, every day of the week, 365 days a year across the whole of Monmouthshire," he said.

"I've had this job for six years and over a certain length of time you get to know the people you deliver to and you do form relationships with them, some even stand at the door to wave you off as you leave.

"It can get tricky when the snow comes, we can just about get around in the vans, but we do have a 4x4 we use if the roads are particularly bad.

"If we can see the forecast isn't good then we may take a few frozen meals just in case we can't get there on a certain day.

"People can have community meals as many times as they'd like during the week."

It's apparent that the meal service providers don't just deliver a hot meal to residents, they offer a lifeline.

"You have to make sure when you deliver the meals that you check the person is alright. They may have fallen or there's a chance that they may need medical assistance, in which case we contact the emergency services.

"With some residents it's likely that we are the only people they see in a day so it's important to check they are safe and well."

As part of Meals on Wheels Week, residents were delivered sandwiches and cakes in addition to their hot meal.

The roadshow at Agincourt Square, Monmouth, last Friday (15th November) saw employees of the community meals service providing information to residents about staying safe, warm and hydrated this winter.

Phillip Waters, senior meal service provider, said: "We're promoting hydration and staying warm, so we're providing free bottles of water and blankets.

"People qualify for community meals on an assessed basis, so they are usually referred by a social worker."

For more information about community meals, call 01873 882910.