The Yorkshire Post says: A helping hand. The fourth emergency service?

A new befriending service could become a fourth emergency service.

Why? It is seeking to recruit a team of mentors – like former teachers, social workers and therapists – who can be called upon to support the lonely, vulnerable and socially isolated at times of need.

One of the many spin-offs of The Yorkshire Post’s award-winning loneliness campaign, the intention is to reduce the amount of time that police officers spend on social welfare callouts so they can focus their energies on tackling the most serious crimes.

Yet the hand of friendship – and a shoulder to cry on at times of stress and anxiety – could also have benefits for the NHS as it becomes overwhelmed by the latest winter crisis.

It is said that loneliness is as damaging to the health of an individual as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and the Jo Cox Commission, set up in memory of the murdered West Yorkshire MP, has called for the Government to lead a national strategy on this very issue.

If North Yorkshire’s pilot project works, and leads to the isolated being less dependent on essential public services for support or simply someone to talk to, the benefits could be  life-changing.