ORGANISERS of a project aiming to feed those in need are overjoyed to have given out 100 pizzas at their first event in Bridport.

Purbeck Pizza Box held its first event in the car park of St Swithun's Church in North Allington last week, which saw pizzas made and handed to anyone in need of a tasty meal.

The project has been organised by Tim Kidney and his son Frankie who both have a strong desire to help homeless and hungry people across the county.

Tim, who works in IT but has a self-declared 'passion for pizza', said: "The event was awesome and I am so pleased with how many people we were able to help.

"It was quite eye-opening as a lot of the people that turned up to get a free pizza were not people who necessarily looked homeless, they were families that are struggling financially in the wake of the pandemic and it means a lot to us that we have been able to help them."

The idea for the initiative came when Tim took Frankie Christmas shopping and found the ten-year-old was more concerned with feeding a homeless man sat outside the shops.

Frankie said: "There was lots of glitz and glamour around Christmas time and I felt bad opening presents knowing that there are people in the world that have nothing.

"The day of the event was quite emotional for everyone involved and it was really nice to give something back.

"On the way home, dad and I felt really proud of ourselves. I can't wait until the next event."

Tim and his team gave out 75 pizzas to anyone who queued up to get one. The remaining 25 were taken to Bridport Community Hospital and given to staff to thank them for their work during the pandemic.

Tim, who lives in Corfe Castle, has set up a justgiving page to help fund future events, which will each cost around £250 to run. He has got a target of £2,500 to give him enough funds to run 10 events over the winter and, hopefully, give out 1,000 pizzas to feed those in need across Dorset.

He added: "This has already been an incredible journey and we are still right at the beginning. It was an amazing day and I'm excited to get the next event booked in."

To donate to the Purbeck Pizza Box justgiving page, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/purbeckpizzabox