IT was a meeting of young and old when the students threw a Christmas party this year.

University of Winchester volunteers set out to spread festive cheer by hosting a Christmas bash for the city’s elderly residents.

They teamed up with Age UK Winchester for a celebration which saw the charity’s lunch-club members and helpers treated to a full Christmas dinner, followed by a raffle and quiz.

Forty-five students and staff gave up their free time in the run up to the event to make the party a success.

“This was a really special day for more than 60 of our elderly lunch-club members and 30 of our wonderful volunteers who work so hard to help our older people throughout the year,” said Arlene Fisher, Age UK Winchester Trustee.

Other guests included the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Ernie Jeffs, the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Joy Carter, and deputy vice-chancellor Liz Stuart.

Richard Cheetham, event organiser and senior fellow in sport studies at the university, said: “The Christmas party is just one of the ways that we like to give something back to the city. It's always such an uplifting event and we hope to be able to continue to work with Age UK Winchester for many Christmases to come.”