Christmas hampers will bring some cheer to people going home from hospital alone this festive season.

Epsom and St Helier hospitals have teamed up with charity Three Cheers for Cheers throughout the year to raise funds and donations for 120 hampers.

They will be given to patients who live alone to take home over the holidays.

Patient experience manager Lesley Scott said: “For some patients, being discharged from hospital can be a stressful and worrying time, especially if they are elderly and live alone.

“While staff do all they can to support patients as they leave hospital, being discharged over the holiday period can be more difficult, especially as many shops will be closed, which can make it hard to buy food.”

Three Cheers for Cheers founder Rowena Gregory said: “However good the support network of friends and family people can normally rely on, these are sometimes not available at this time of year so any elderly patients, or people who are going home alone, might find their discharge especially difficult.

“It is nice for people to know that someone is thinking of them.”