VOLUNTEERS who provide the only social interaction for hundreds of older people have called for others to pledge their time to keep the ‘vital’ service going.

Age UK Oxfordshire’s 'phone friends' offers a friendly chat for 280 of the county’s most lonely and isolated people.

Some 45 volunteers from across Oxfordshire make regular calls which help combat the ‘debilitating’ effects of chronic loneliness, with the charity estimating 11,000 people faced with spending Christmas alone.

Derek Needham, from Bicester, turned to the phone service after losing his sight.

These problems, combined with agoraphobia, meant he found it difficult to get out of the house.

He lives with his son Stacey who has Asperger’s Syndrome and is his full time carer.

The 68-year-old said: “I felt very isolated and very limited in what I could do.

“When you lose your sight, it can be scary and lonely. Going out was very hard work so I did not leave the house that much and didn’t have a lot of confidence.

“The phone calls made me feel a little bit important, like people were interested in what I had to say.

“I enjoy chatting and it’s something I could do in my own house.

“Sometimes you don’t want to talk but that’s fine.

“It’s nice to know there’s someone there if you need them.”

The father-of-four had an operation earlier this month which restored a lot of his vision.

He has now become a volunteer on the phone service himself, calling other lonely older people.

He said: “People should do what they can.

“If I can help put a smile on someone’s face then it is all worth it.

“I am sure there are a lot of people out there who could spare an hour a week to make a difference.”

Long-standing volunteer Mary Wood, 73, has a regular list of 14 people to call every Tuesday for ten minutes each.

The retired grandmother, who lives in Banbury, says she often gets the sense that people want to talk more often or for longer and wishes she could do more to help.

Mrs Wood got involved after her father in law’s experiences of living in a care home in later life.She said: “It’s mostly chit-chat, talking about their gardens, their families and their past.

“Sometimes people tell me things they may not feel able to tell families, issues they are having with a carer or at a home for example, and I do what I can to act on it.

To help go to www.ageuk.org.uk/oxfordshire/how-you-can-help