ICE cream manufacturer Rossi’s has joined Harp’s campaign to serve 1,000 Christmas dinners to the homeless by supplying them in ice cream.

Company director Colin Gray said he decided to donate 1,000 servings of ice cream after reading the Echo’s feature on the Southend homeless charity’s campaign to ensure no-one goes without a proper dinner this Christmas.

The donation will include a mix of vanilla, honeycomb, mint choc chip and mango sorbet, as well as the company’s two special Christmas flavours, apple strudel and snowflake, which consists of white chocolate and marshmallow.

Mr Gray said the company had donated ice cream to Harp before, but wanted to really make people’s Christmas this year by providing a treat with every meal.

He said: “We like to try to help charitable organisations in Southend as much as we can.”

HARP’s service operations manager Gary Turner said the charity was very appreciative of the donation.

He said: “We’ve always appreciated their support – it shows their hearts are in the right place.”