GENEROUS gym owners have revealed plans to again open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day to offer a lifeline to people battling loneliness during the festive period.

Scott Thompson and Gemma Davies, who run SPT Fitness in Prince Close, Westcliff, plan to continue their “Christmas gym” following its success last year.

The gym has been open for a decade and has stayed open every single day of the last year after making the commitment last December.  Gemma said despite being open for reduced hours, she hopes they can “help people get out clear their heads and help with loneliness”.

Gemma said: “We are supporting single mums and single dads at Christmas, and we keep the gym open on Christmas eve and Boxing Day too.

“We are running at reduced hours but its really to help people get out and clear their heads, it was quite busy last year, and we had a lot of people in and a lot of single dads who came in because they had nowhere to really go.

“We had people donating chocolate, teas, and coffees, it was the first year when we were thinking that its nice for people to go down and not spend the whole day on our own.

“We had a good time, it was somewhere quiet, and it wasn’t done for advertisement, it’s so quiet now up until Christmas and then you can find everyone here on Christmas.

“Christmas is not the same for everybody, you think everyone is in the same boat and then it is not, Christmas can be really hard for a lot of people,” Gemma said.

Gemma added that the gym is family-run, which informs their decision to stay open.

Gemma said: “It’s strange, Scott is my ex-husband and we opened ten years ago when we separated, three years ago I came back to the gym and now I am a co-owner.

Gemma said: “Our boys are older now we don’t need to be sitting at home opening presents.

“Our sessions are free on Christmas, and we are open for anyone to come down.”

For more information on the gym and the fitness training services they provide search SPT Fitness Gym on Facebook and on Instagram.