By CAROLINE WILSON

A CHARITY that provides companionship for lonely OAPs says it can't meet demand for the service.

Linda Hamilton, manager of the Mount Befriending Service, says there are 11 pensioners on the waiting list because they don't have enough volunteers.

Trained 'befrienders' visit elderly people in their homes once a week for a cup of tea and a chat.

However the charity, which has been running for 16 years in Glasgow's South Side, has experienced a shortage in people coming forward to help.

She believes the decline in the number of volunteers is an inevitable consequence of people having to work longer.

With an increasing elderly population, the demand for help to tackle age-related loneliness and isolation is increasing.

The charity, which is a former finalist in the Evening Times Community Champion awards, is hoping a new tie-in with a bigger Glasgow charity will help raise their profile.

From November 1, it will become part of Glasgow Old People's Welfare Association (GOPWA). It is now based at the David Cargill Centre, which is run by the charity.

Ms Hamilton said: "We work with people who are over 60 years of age but the majority are in their 70s.

"We have 20 volunteers but we desperately need more to expand the service.

"We have 11 people waiting.

"We are struggling to get volunteers. People are having to work longer.

"You need to be sympathetic and a good listener. All I say to them is, go and have a cut of tea and a blether and take the loneliness away from them.

"I always say to people, that someone we are trying to help is your mother, or your grandparent or you aunty.

"For some people, we are the only people they see.

"Older people are not to be forgotten. They are important and they have got needs too.

"One lady, she was stuck in her house, she had mobility issues.

"We sent a volunteer in and a few weeks later she called me, saying she had bought a motorised scooter and he had taken her to a garden centre.

"She would never have done that before.

"We have volunteers from their 30s to their 60s. It makes them feel useful. The elderly people are so grateful."

Could you spare an hour a week to chat to a lonely OAP? Contact Linda Hamilton at themountbefriendingservice@btconnect.com or call 0141 649 8800