COMMUNITY groups in Horwich have merged to form an inclusive club for the over 50s in a bid to combat isolation and boredom in the town.

The Over 50s Club will run on the second and fourth Thursday of the month, between 12.30pm and 2.30pm at Horwich Community Centre on Beaumont Road.

The group has grown from the Over 50s Lads Club, set up by Cllr Peter Wright in 2015, initially formed to provide a service for men who had difficulty socialising and wanted somewhere to meet like-minded people for a game of table tennis, pool or dominoes.

During the pandemic, the group stopped running, and the decision was taken to wait till the easing of lockdown on July 19 before starting up again.

In the meantime the Over 50s Ladies Club, which was previously run from the community centre had closed down due to lack of numbers, and there are no plans to reopen in the near future.

Cllr Peter Wright has now reformed the club to include both men and women, renaming it the Over 50s club.

He said: “It is always nice to help others out. There are a lot of social groups around being run from community centres and church groups.

“Unfortunately, men are not as outgoing as women are - and are less likely to sign up for new things and tend to be in a ‘rut’ if not encouraged to get out of the house.

“Being over 50 myself, I often find it difficult to find like-minded groups to join.

“Now that people are beginning to be a little more adventurous at going out again it would be nice to reach out to as many people as possible and get people enjoying themselves and laughing again.

“I hope that we can attract women into our group and I look forward to the group growing.”

Cllr Wright says he will also be raising funds through different events for mental health charities.

The next meeting of the Over 50s Club will be held tomorrow.