"I LOVE company and it makes a big difference when someone calls round because you can get very lonely on your own."

Ivy Nicholls, aged 90, from Hampton, is among a growing number of Vale pensioners taking advantage of the Befriending Service run by the Vale of Evesham Volunteer Centre. The scheme links elderly people with local residents who visit them in their homes to provide company and conversation.

Befriender co-ordinator Michele Charlton has overseen the programme for the last 12 months. She said: "It is proven that if we have someone going along to provide company for a person it improves their mental health and has an impact on their physical health.

"The whole idea behind the scheme is to keep people in their homes for as long as possible and recently, the agencies who refer to us, have become much more aware of it. This means we are getting more referrals but the number of people coming forward as befrienders has not increased."

Michele added: "If a befriender sees someone is really at crisis point they can tell me and I can notify the necessary agencies. So by being there the befrienders are also monitoring the well-being of the people they visit."

Ivy's befriender is 70-year-old Roy Cubberley who lives nearby and has been visiting her for the past year.

Ivy, who has mobility problems, said: "This sort of thing is so needed in the area because there are a lot of people who are terribly lonely."

Roy, who began his volunteer work as a driver, said: "I get delight from helping people - is not like a job or a duty, it is just a pleasure to do it. The befriending scheme is something I have always wanted to do and if I could do it more I would because there are that many people in the Vale that are lonely.

"I get on very well with Ivy's family and I have even taken her on holiday for four days.

"When she went in to a rest home for a fortnight I looked after the house and did some of her washing and looked after her animals."

But Michele is keen to stress that not every member of the befriending service is as dedicated as Roy.

She said: "Even one visit once a fortnight is very worthwhile - it is the commitment to the scheme and regularity that is in some respects more important."

"People who are kind, caring and sensitive would be ideal for the befriending scheme. In terms of supporting them we offer a good induction and training and while the training is not compulsory it is there if people need it.

"We have quarterly get-togethers where befrienders meet and talk on matters relative to the scheme. There is also the opportunity of social outings, which is another benefit of joining the programme."