A MUCH-LOVED North-East hotel is donating 20 packed lunches each day to their local food bank.

Rockliffe Hotel will be donating packed lunches containing freshly made sandwiches, fruit, crisps, drinks and homemade cake to Kings Church Darlington foodbank.

The donations come after MPs voted down the campaign to extend free school meals over the holidays and will kick off the award-winning hotel's Giving Back series to run over the winter months.

Jason Adams, Managing Director, said: "We work in an industry that is being decimated by Coronavirus so it is vital that we do everything we can to help those in the local community.

"Thousands of families will struggle to put food on the table this Christmas and we will continue to do all we can to give back and assist where we can."

As well as supporting local causes, Rockliffe Hall was awarded the AA Covid Confident shield, the VisitEngland 'We're Good to Go' Kitemark and the global CBAC STAR accreditation for their response to the pandemic