A ST HELENS company famous for its pies, hotpots and sausages is supporting local charity Teardrops to help the homeless and vulnerable this Christmas.

Cottoms, which has been based in St Helens since the 1940s, is donating 10p from every pie sold over the festive period - from December 1 to January 6 - to the good cause.

The Merton Bank-based business is also donating some pies to the Teardrops hub that provides a daily hot meal for 50-60 homeless people each day.

Will Munro, owner and managing director of Cottoms, said:  "As a business with our roots in St Helens, we are keen to help and support the local community.

"We don’t believe anyone should be homeless at Christmas and as such we are pleased to help the team at Teardrops with the great work they do - both at their hub on Crab Street and in the community."

Food donations

Teardrops general manager Nick Dyer added: "Cottoms have provided food donations to us in the past and we are really delighted to have them on board as a partner.

"When they approached me to ask how they could help, I explained that we needed both financial and food donations.

"We regularly serve their hot pies which are very tasty to our users, with either chips or mash and vegetables as they are an ideal hot food for them, both in terms of nourishment and comfort.

"We are very grateful to Cottoms along with all our partners and volunteers who help us support homeless people of St Helens, with a view to getting them off the streets and to live a better life."