More than 100 elderly and housebound residents in Tendring look set to miss out this Christmas.

For the past ten years, pensioners across the town and surrounding area have been given a gift bag with cards and calendars made by local schoolchildren.

It also included donated goodies from Clacton Rotary Club and Clacton Lions, but the present has now been taken off the Christmas menu.

It has been axed after the new Essex County Council meals-on-wheels service refused to deliver the items.

In previous years, Tendring Council operated the meals-on-wheels service and was happy to take the gift bags along with the meals on Christmas Day.

But organisers of the new service decided they would only deliver them if they are donated all over Essex.

Rotarians who used to deliver Christmas meals as well as gifts, before they were stopped due to new legislation, have been saddened by the decision.

Rotarian press officer Basil Hutley said: "Now this service has come to an end, the recipients, the donors of goodies, the primary schoolchildren who make the cards and calendars and, of course, the Rotarians and Lions are all bitterly disappointed."

Sarah Candy, cabinet member for adult social care with Essex County Council, said urgent talks were taking place.

"Clearly this is a much-loved tradition and the county council is keen to see it continue," she said. "In fact, it is an ideal example of the kind of partnerships we want to attract with local charitable groups. We are currently talking to the groups and authorities involved about how we can jointly ensure the tradition continues."

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Published Friday, November 25, 2005

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