A HIGH street bakery is offering Glasgow people free cakes if they host a tea party for lonely OAPs.

Greggs has backed a scheme run by the charity, Contact the Elderly, which invites the public to host a tea party for pensioners in their home on a Sunday afternoon.

The chain said 20 stores across Scotland will provide yum yums, pineapple tarts and other sweet treats including Duke Street bakery in Dennistoun.

Contact the Elderly has 123 groups in Scotland including 13 in the city of Glasgow which aim to provide a 'lifeline of friendship' to old people who live alone.

In bordering East Dunbartonshire there are three groups with two in West Dunbartonshire.

Across all three of those local authorities there are currently 20 older people on a waiting list including 13 in Glasgow.

In particular the charity urgently needs new hosts south of the river from east to west.

The regular format is a tea party held in a volunteer host’s home for a group of between six and eight people on a Sunday afternoon.

A volunteer driver collects one or two older people and accompanies them to the party. A host welcomes a group once or twice a year.

Research by the charity showed that 95% of guests say the parties give them something to look forward to and 77% feel happier because of the parties, while 76% of guests find Sunday a particularly lonely day.

A spokeswoman for Greggs said: "As a business, Greggs believe in supporting the local communities in which they operate and Greggs is proud to work with Contact the Elderly.

"A number of Greggs shops in Scotland have committed to providing cakes for the guests to enjoy at the monthly get-togethers."

Morna O’May, Head of Service – Scotland at Contact the Elderly, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Greggs for the ongoing support its bakeries in Glasgow, and throughout the country, provide for our tea parties.

"The value of enjoying a shared afternoon of cakes and company is immeasurable.

"Thanks to our amazing volunteers, alongside organisations such as Greggs, we can ensure scores of older people, who may otherwise have been alone, are enjoying a vital lifeline of friendship on a Sunday afternoon.

“A few hours on a Sunday afternoon once a month, or even just once a year, is such a small commitment but the difference it makes is immeasurable."