Shasi and Pallu Patel, a couple who run a newsagent have announced that they will open on Christmas Day so lonely people can come in “for a hug and a mince pie”. 

The couple who owns Meet and Deep Newsagents in Twickenham, London will don festive outfits, play Christmas carols and hand out free mince pies and sweets to anyone who drops in between midday and 2 pm.

To spread the message, they shared a post on Facebook that read: “If you are alone, pop in for a hug and a mince pie! You don’t have to buy anything, we are family.” People loved the wonderful idea and the post was shared more than 40,000 times.

The Patels have been doing this for the past eight years.  It all started when an elderly lady named Dot, came into their shop just before Christmas telling them a man posing as a gas fitter had stolen from her. Their son Neeten, posted about this incident on Facebook and warned the local community to be extra cautious.

The Patels were surprised to see people arriving with gifts for Dot. Neeten’s younger brother Deepen said that it was the best Christmas Dot had ever had. Since then, every Christmas, they have opened their doors so people like Dot can experience some festive cheer.

This year, the family have hired a DJ to play Christmas songs and even borrowed a strobe light for the day.Next year the family want to make the event even bigger and hope to hire out a local venue with more space to put on a Christmas lunch.Deepen said that although they are Hindus, they believed in sharing love on Christmas.