Students from The Petersfield School expressed their gratitude to a local charity with a special Christmas event.

Volunteers from The King’s Arms were treated to gingerbread, hot drinks and gifts from the children as thanks for the work they do.

The charity helps, supports, and meets the needs of young people in Petersfield, Alton and surrounding villages.

Larissa Mendres-Elder, mentoring manager, said: “Our young people are doing their bit of service by putting on this Christmas contribution cafe and thanking all our volunteers.

“They have made them little presents and written little speeches, even the ones that really struggle to speak out loud and they feel really proud that they've met this challenge.”

Town criers Faye and Martin Thompson opened the event and the children and attendees all participated in a getting to know each other game.

Volunteers are at the heart of the charity’s work and provide different services that include after-school sessions, support for carers, mentoring, administration and more.

Lee Lloyd, who has been a volunteer for a year and helps with mentoring, commented: “There's quite a few different volunteers I've met and all are at different stages.

“I've met someone who’s been volunteering for 18 months and someone who's only been here three weeks. It is quite nice to see that there's quite a mix of people who've been here a lot longer and new volunteers still coming in.”

Before the children returned to school, volunteers took turns reading out different quotes that were written by the young people, describing the positive impact the charity has had on their lives.

One quote read: “This is my home away from home and it's a place where I can talk about my feelings, venting helps.

Another said: “I love the crew because when I'm feeling down, they make me feel up.”