A KIND-HEARTED volunteer has told how she cooks up to 20 meals a day for homeless people on the streets of Blackburn.

With council bosses warning homelessness is worse than ever before in Blackburn with Darwen, Lesley Griffiths has set about providing nutritious meals for the homeless.

Ms Griffiths, from Blackburn, can cook up to 120 meals a week, cooking them in her own kitchen while she also buys all the ingredients, including drinks.

She also makes up breakfast snack packs that are distributed by the Blackburn charity Community Spirit’s outreach team that trawls the streets every night during the cold winter months.

Meals she cooks include roast dinners, cottage pie, lasagne, bolognese and curry

Ms Griffiths, who volunteers at Community Spirit, said: “I love cooking and when I heard about Community Spirit, I knew I wanted to get involved.

“I currently buy all the ingredients and cook them in my kitchen. The outreach team then pick up the meals and take them to homeless people in the town.

“I am very conscious about nutrition being important, so I ensure that all ingredients are fresh, and my dishes contain a variety of fruit and vegetables.”

She is calling on businesses and residents to donate food to make meals for the homeless.

She added: “A lot of people have shown an interest in what I do, which is very flattering. Many followers of Community Spirit have asked for copies of recipes for the dishes I create, and I’m happy to oblige.

“I would also welcome donations of meat and fresh fruit and veg from butchers and greengrocers.”

Along with the nightly outreach, Community Spirit offers a weekly feed from 7.30pm each Tuesday at Wesley Hall in Blackburn town centre.

Anyone who wants to help should contact Ms Griffiths on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bbstreetfeed/. To make donations, visit the Community Spirit Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/413190592161296/