Lonely people looking to make some new friends in Hinckley have a new way to reach out and have fun with others.
The You’ve Got A Friend Facebook group is open to anyone to join and is a forum for people to introduce themselves and create safe events for new mates to meet up.
It already has more than 1,000 members with events including coffee meetings, bowling, pub quizzes, Zumba and indoor bowls.
Members also regularly talk to each other and ask questions on the page.
One of the organisers is Jodie Carnall, former contestant on Take Me Out and Coach Trip, who set up the group with the help of her sister Laura.
She said: “We have a number of social events organised so that people can attend if they wish to.
“There is absolutely no pressure for people to attend the events as we understand that anxiety makes it difficult to leave the house sometimes.
"However, we feel this group can benefit individuals just by talking to other people who are nothing but kind and supportive."
The friendly forum was set up after Katie Owens from the town wrote an anonymous post last year on the Spotted Hinckley page reaching out to socialise.
Laura, her cousin Amy and some other friends got in touch and met up with her for a meal and went on to develop a strong friendship, meaning Katie didn’t have to spend her 21st birthday alone.
As the pals have seen a number of similar posts on the Spotted Hinckley page, they decided to set up their own network.
Jodie said: “We have had a lot of lovely messages of support and people are feeling like this is definitely helping them already after just one hour of joining.
“We are going to arrange social events that suit all ages such as paintballing, afternoon tea, dog walks, picnics, meals, drinks, and even play days out for those with children.”
Katie is an admin of the group, which is open to all ages and genders, while members Sean Thornton and Clifford Pardoe also help Jodie and Laura run it.
Jodie was a contestant on series 17 of Coach Trip alongside teammate Jimmy from Australia, and they were the last of the original pairs to be voted off.
The organisers said in a description on the Facebook page: “We hope you find this page beneficial and we hope this is the beginning of many beautiful friendships.”
