A CHARITY has launched a free initiative to stimulate adults who feel they are spending too much time on their own with little to do.

Time For Time, which is being funded by North Yorkshire County Council, will include informative presentations and guest speakers, budget and energy-saving tips, cheap and easy food recipes, help with hobbies and crafts and working on the allotment, as well as confidential help, advice and guidance.

Group activities will be staged at Thirsk Clock on Wednesdays, from 10am to 1pm and one-to-one appointments will be held from 1pm to 4pm.

The council's public health boss, Councillor Don MacKenzie, said the scheme was part of a drive to help people maintain their independence and to encourage local communities to care for their residents.

He said: "As an authority, we are all too aware of the effects of loneliness on health and social care and that overcoming isolation represents a major challenge across a rural county with sparse populations.”