Birthday cake was on the menu when an East Hampshire club that’s full of beans served up a breakfast treat to veterans and special guests.

More than 40 people raised their glasses of orange juice at the Liss RBL Club on Wednesday (April 9) to celebrate a year of their Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club.

The community-minded club on Rake Road dishes up £5 fry-ups on the second Wednesday of the month to local veterans, pensioners, RBL members and villagers.

“We established it to try and get more veterans to come in and members of the community as well,” said breakfast club ‘chairman’ Frank Smyth.

“We invited them in for a breakfast once a month, and we’ve increased to now having 40 regular parties.

“This whole thing is run and supported by volunteers and we couldn’t do it without them.”

Damian Hinds was on the brown sauce as organisers invited the East Hampshire MP to celebrate the milestone along with special guests from the RBL and EHDC.

He was given the honour of cutting one of six birthday cakes with the Tory being quick to thank key members Lt Col Terry O’Connor (rtd), Cliff Salmon and volunteers in and out of the kitchen.

He said: “I want to thank Frank, Terry and everyone involved in this, especially the amazing people who make this gorgeous food.

“All of you have made this happen because there’s no point in having a get-together if people don’t get together.

“This is for veterans, RBL members, families, widows and the wider community and it’s just great, but everyone knows the RBL does great work.”

He added: “Bringing the community together in this way I think is absolutely brilliant, so a very happy birthday to the breakfast club and may it have many more years ahead of it.”