Kind-hearted members of churches from across Barrow have brought hope to those facing loneliness this Christmas time.

Headed by a new church ministry in the town, the Anna Chaplaincy, a project to create and donate 700 knitted crosses to the elderly in Barrow surpassed expectations, with more than 1,000 residents receiving a cross this Christmas.

Residents of sheltered accommodation, assisted living and those being cared for in Furness General Hospital also received a gift.

Anna Chaplain Babs Lowes said: "It's been a tough year for everyone but especially for people living in care homes.

"Some of them really don't understand why they cant see their relatives and I've heard the word 'prisoner', because people have said they feel like prisoners – at one time in particular they had to stay in their own rooms and even now they have to eat in their own rooms."

Explaining the role of the new ministry within the community, and where it had originated from, the chaplain said: "It's a new chaplaincy that is just beginning in Cumbria.

"It is a ministry that is focused on spiritually caring for older people.

"This is a growing ministry which belongs to a national network that was started in the South of England.

"It has grown from there upwards and it's for people of strong faith, little faith and no faith at all.

"The idea is we will have a group of volunteers known as Anna friends who will support me and other Anna chaplains as we are hoping there will be a couple in a town like Barrow and so we will be able to go in to care homes and work in the community."

"We just felt that this would be a great thing to do for our very first project.

"We are just so pleased that everyone has got behind it and it brings the hope of Jesus Christ to them on Christmas Day.

"Because they are holding crosses that are soft, even those with poor dexterity will be able to hold them and they can bring a great deal of comfort and hope to some people.

"We also sent in a short Christmas church service on DVD to care homes which is the story of the nativity.

"We have one of the children singing Away In a Manger on it because everybody loves that and hopefully they will join in with it as well.

"Churches were previously able to go to care homes to do Christmas Carolling but of course that can't happen now so we must get creative and find new ways of doing things.

"We just have to keep carrying on."