HOLIDAY Hunger East Lancashire is helping to feed 3,000 children after MPs voted not to extend holiday help for free school meals.

The charitable cause which was initiated by Annette Weekes, director of PDS Engineering and Paul Whittle, managing director of Live Well UK, has already raised over £20,000 on its Just Giving page, with more donations still coming in.

Annette said: "It's not about politics it's about children. We are in unprecedented times so I feel like it shouldn't be a political issue, it should be let's just make sure people are covered and let's not leave children in the lurch.

"What started off as an idea, which we estimated from we had been told to be around 1,000 children has become 3,000 children and we are covering all of East Lancashire so it has become quite a big undertaking."

The duo started organising the meals on Friday and since then have been working with schools around East Lancashire who have sent a text to their free school dinners parents.

The parents then have an online form to complete and the meals turn up at their house every day.

Parents have already spoke of their gratitude to the pair and volunteers for how they are helping children across East Lancashire.

One parent said: "I just wanted to say thank you. You have helped my children massively as unfortunately I had to take three weeks off work last month due to having to isolate and unfortunately left a big whole out of my wage.

"I think you're all amazing people for what you are doing and many families will never know how to repay you all for all your kind generosity and hard work."

Another parent said: "Thank you so much for your lovely meals, my children loved every bit of them.

"You have made this holiday so much easier for us as a family and we truly appreciate the time all your wonderful volunteers have spent ensuring my children and hundreds of children have gone to bed feeling full."

The hot meals are made to replicate school dinners, including pasta with meatballs and sausage and potatoes, with alternatives to suit dietary requirements of individual children.

Paul said it was important to them to provide these kinds of meals as they could be the only nutritious meal a child receives all day.

He said: "We could have easily provided a load of dried goods but we wanted to replicate what the idea is behind a free school meal which is potentially that child's only nutritious meal of the day.

"We haven't just left it at free school meals, schools have been able to contact anybody who they think is struggling.

Volunteers have flooded in to support the cause with professional chefs and cooks and other people helping to put the meals together and get them packaged and delivered.

Companies across each borough have also shown their support including Tubs of Colne who have helped with catering and cooking, Motorpoint Burnley who have helped with deliveries, What More UK who have donated money to buy food as well as Accrington Stanley and Landmark Burnley who have both organised an area for local delivery hubs.

Boris Johnson said the government was supporting families with a Universal Credit increase of £20 a week, introduced in April.

The government also said it gave £63m to councils - first announced in June - to help people who are struggling to afford food and essentials.

However, the Local Government Association said this funding was intended to be spent before the end of September and had been "outstripped" by demand.

The UK government extended free school meals to eligible children during the Easter holidays earlier this year and, after Manchester United star Marcus Rashford's campaigning, did the same for the summer holiday.