PEOPLE with dementia are being offered support from a new service in Basingstoke.

The Dementia Café will open on the second Monday of each month from 2pm to 3.30pm in The School Room at St Michael’s Church Cottage.

Run by the charity Alzheimer’s Society, the next meeting will be on March 11. It is free to attend and open to anyone affected by memory problems, either personally, as a carer, family member or friend.

Philip O’Reilly, a carer for his wife Rose, who has Alzheimer’s Disease, said: “We enjoyed meeting other people with dementia and their carers and getting on a first-name basis during the session we attended, and we really appreciated the support that everyone gave us.

“We also thoroughly enjoyed the delicious cakes made by the volunteers!”

Mark Green, support services manager at Alzheimer’s Society, added: “There are currently 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK with just under 2,000 living in Basingstoke.

“As the brain shuts down, a person gradually loses the ability to do the things many of us take for granted from enjoying conversations with family or friends to eating or dressing without help.

“Each month, at the Dementia Cafe, we will focus on a different theme and we offer participants the opportunity to engage with the activity on offer.”