A community café in Bury St Edmunds is expanding its offer for families who may be feeling lonely and isolated.

A group of volunteers set up the Westbury Community Café on the Westley estate last summer following a successful lottery bid.

They are now looking to help even more residents after councillor Clive Springett, who represents the estate on West Suffolk Council, backed the initiative with £500 from his locality budget.

The cash has been used to buy equipment to allow the café to serve hot meals and will also enable the Friends of Westbury Social Club to host more events for the local community.

Sharon Finlayson, from the Friends group, said: "We had feedback from parents who said they felt a bit isolated at home once they had dropped their children off at school. While many of them were then in contact with friends on Facebook, you can't beat real human contact.

"We want the community café to be open to all residents on the estate. This is a perfect place for parents and grandparents to come to meet, have a coffee, chat and a bite to eat and for anyone who feels lonely, a bit isolated or who is new to the estate, to come along and make new friends."

Events held in the café have included a local sewing group offering handmade items for sale, a visit from an Avon representative and Halloween and Christmas-themed photoshoots with a professional photographer.

Mr Springett said: "The Westley estate is a great community that likes to support each other and so I'm pleased to support this fantastic initiative. It's about people having a place to go, meet and make new friends and it can only make the community even stronger."

The community café is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

For more information search for Westbury Café & Takeaway on Facebook.