ELDERLY care home residents read bedtime classics to village youngsters as part of a heartwarming campaign.

Silversprings, in Tenpenny Hill, Thorrington, welcomed the area’s Beaver Scouts groups into the home for a special retelling of some of the best-loved stories.

The event was created in celebration of National Storytelling Week, which ensures children without grandparents do not miss out on a magical tale before bedtime.

At Silversprings the youngsters enjoyed read throughs of everything from Sleeping Beauty to The Brightlingsea Cat.

Ten Little Superheroes, The Gingerbread Man, Hugless Douglas, Chicken Licken and My New Pet also made up the reading programme.

Dorothy, 93, was entrusted with reading The Elves and the Shoemaker. 

She said: “I had a wonderful time reading to the children and especially loved listening to them reading to us.

“It’s always lovely when the children come to visit – I don’t know where they get their energy from.”

Joanne Rix is the home manager at Silversprings, which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care, and even has its own hair salon.

She added: “Here at Silversprings we always enjoy opening our doors to the local community, so it was fantastic to be joined by the Beaver Scouts.

“Intergenerational activities are incredibly enriching for all ages and provide a fantastic opportunity for residents and children to interact with one another.

“The youngsters were able to soak up a wonderful story and the residents benefited from gaining a different perspective from the children on a traditional story.

“It’s fantastic to host a session such as this to allow the two generations to spend time with one another.

“We thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Bedtime Stories reading session with the children and hope that we have helped them to continue building a love of reading.”

As part of the campaign four free videos of Care UK residents reading famous bedtime stories have been released.

To watch the clips or to find out for more information about the Bedtime Stories initiative visit: careuk.com/bedtime-stories.