MANCHESTER, England, December 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

500,000 UK Senior Citizens Alone on Christmas Day

A staggering 6.9 million older people in Britain will be relieved when Christmas is over, new research* has revealed.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141223/723343-INFO )

The unseasonal heartache comes as new statistics reveal 500,000 older people in Britain will spend Christmas Day alone**.

Research, by national pub chain Ember Inns, has revealed that 20% of older people wake up on Christmas morning dreading the day ahead.

Hardly surprising when you consider that almost one in 20 older people didn't receive a single present last Christmas.

The worst part about Christmas Day for almost one in 10 older people is spending so much time alone, with a further 11% revealing they get upset when they see other people with families on December 25.

Almost 10% older people say they expect to be eating a pre-purchased ready-meal on Christmas Day this year, the research has revealed.

Ember Inns, which prides itself on being the heart of the local community, has donated a table at each of its 130 pubs across the UK on Christmas Day to lonely older people from the local community.

Each pub has donated a four course Christmas dinner, free of charge, so lonely older people can spend the day surrounded by their peers.

Fiona Richardson, Marketing Manager for Ember Inns, said, "At Ember Inns we're passionate about communities. We all have friends or relatives that live alone and this can be a very tough for them, especially in the run up to Christmas and our pubs are ideally situated in the community to help. Our pubs are all over the UK so lonely older people are sure to have one near them that they can rely on for the perfect Christmas this year."

In the UK more than half of all 75 year olds live alone and one in ten suffers 'intense' loneliness but is reluctant to ask for help and 17% of older people think Christmas is 'just like any other day'.

For more information visit http://www.emberinns.co.uk

* Based on 17.3 million older people in the UK and a survey of 2,000 people aged 55+ by One Poll in November 2014

** Statistics issued by Community Christmas in December 2014

SOURCE Ember Inns