A curry house has been praised for offering free meals to residents of a block of retirement flats in Old Town.

Wood Street restaurant Biplob has been serving up the free korma treat every Thursday since Mothering Sunday.

Marilyn Somers, 82, who has lived at Goddard Court, Cricklade Street, for a decade praised restaurant owner Rokib Ali: “None of us are going out. We can’t have our families to visit us, but Rokib is so kind to have thought of us.

“People say that it makes their week. Everybody has a nice word to say about it. We appreciate it so much, we really do. It’s a big thing he’s doing.

“A few of us will be going round to Biplob when we’re allowed to go out.”

Rokib, who has delivered free food to the hospital told the Adver: “We’re a community. We’re all together in this. The people at Goddard Court are somebody’s dad, somebody’s mum. They miss their family. This is the way for me to give my share.

“I think everybody should be working together. This is my way of doing work to support my community and my neighbours.”

The connection with the retirement flats, home to more than 30 people, began in March when Rokib offered to deliver two dozen meals for Mother’s Day. “They were delighted,” he said.

Marilyn, a former publican-turned mental health support worker, said: “My daughter Caroline phoned me to say would we get some numbers because Rokib was going to send us these meals.

"They were absolutely fantastic. We thought that was that.

“Then Caroline phoned me to say he wanted to do a meal every week.”

Each week Marilyn and friend Margaret go around the flats asking for people’s orders. There’s a choice of either chicken or vegetable korma, a mild curry that is to most people’s taste.

“The people from Biplob come in masks and plastic aprons and put them down outside then disappear. We pick them up and sort the meals out onto three trays.”

Marilyn and Margaret then go through the building leaving the curry and rice outside their neighbours’ doors.

“I do the top floor, Margaret does the ground floor and we both live on the first floor.”

The grandmother-of-five had a message for Rokib: “I would just like to say thank you so very much from everyone here, whose weeks are made special by what you’re doing for us.”