Hotel offers free festive lunch to anyone alone this Christmas

And while other diners are forking out £75 a head for traditional roast bronze turkey or dry aged fillet steak with all the trimmings at the White Hart in Ampthill, it won’t cost them a penny.

A poster put up this week in the historic Georgian market town’s WAitrose supermarket states: “If you find yourself or know of someone without friends or relatives to spend Christmas with, please get in touch.

“We would love you to spend Christmas Day with us... we look forward to hearing from you.

“Please come and join us for a free lunch in good company.”

Ampthill pensioner Charlie Garth, 79, said: “This is the true spirit of Christmas. After all the commercialised nonsense we get rammed down our throats, it is wonderful to see the White Hart doing something like this.”