UNSUNG heroes who volunteer to help worthy causes are to be recognised and treated to a slap up lunch.

Colchester mayor Gerard Oxford asked charities to nominate up to 20 volunteers to dine with him and his wife, Beverley, to thank them for their selfless work.

Now nominations have been finalised and Mr and Mrs Oxford are preparing to invite 170 people to dine with the volunteers at Colchester Town Hall on February 22.

The event is being staged thanks to the support of Milsoms of Dedham, Wilkin and Sons of Tiptree, Tesco and Mr Wheeler’s Wine who are supplying food and drink for the special occasion.

Mr Oxford, who is supporting a number of charities during his mayoral year, said: “Bev and I had the idea that we wanted to celebrate volunteering.

“This lunch will be our way of saying thank you to volunteers as without them, a lot of charity work could not be done.”

Milsoms Catering of Dedham is providing the starter and the main course for the meal, while Royal jam makers Wilkin and Sons will provide the dessert.

Supermarket giant Tesco is donating red wine for the lunch while the white wine is being supplied by Mr Wheeler Wine of Dedham.

Milsoms will be taking charge of cooking the food and serving it to the volunteers so they can have a day off the hard work.

Another generous donor is High Sherriff of Essex, Simon Hall.

Mr Hall has donated 50 bottles of champagne for the guests to enjoy on their arrival at the Moot Hall.

Mr Oxford expressed his gratitude to all those contributing to the meal.

He said: “We wanted to celebrate volunteers without charging them for the meal.

“We also didn’t want to make any money off the back of the lunch, so it’s fantastic to have food and drink donated.

“Huge thanks to everyone who has donated. Without the cooperation of these companies, we wouldn’t have been able to hold this event.”