PENSIONERS in Bolton are to be offered a new shopping delivery service after councillors agreed to a link up with the Somerfield supermarket chain.

Bolton Council home care workers currently buy food from a variety of shops for about 400 elderly people in the borough.

But about 40 of them, together with new service users, will test the new scheme from next month.

It could save the council £180,000 each year on the current £240,000 cost.

Somerfield staff will collect orders, then pick up the food from a branch in Ashton-in-Makerfield.

They will then deliver it and put it away. There will also be a telephone helpline.

The service will cost pensioners £5, although the charge will be waived for orders over £25. They currently pay between nothing and £20 a week depending on a financial assessment.

A council report says the saving will allow the department - which was forced to cut £3.3 million from its budget for next year - to meet more critical and substantial needs'.

It will also free up the time of care workers.

The council's executive member for adult social care and health, Cllr Margaret Clare, said: "I think this partnership with Somerfield will be very useful.

"The money we spend on the current scheme could be used in more productive ways.

"This will give people more choice of what they can eat and we might end up with healthier pensioners."

"Although some have relatives or neighbours who do the shopping for them but others who are quite frail sadly manage on a jam butty."

A Somerfield spokesman said: "Over the past year Somerfield has been developing a delivery service to the elderly.

"Schemes are now running successfully at four councils that employ care workers, helping more than 1,000 elderly customers.

"Instead of care workers making numerous trips to store to buy shopping for each of the people they look after, the scheme allows them to do all their shopping in one go."