MORE than £10,000 will be donated to Basildon's foodbanks with each set to benefit from a windfall in cash.

Basildon Council will give £10,500 to six foodbanks across the borough due to a budget underspend this year.

Bosses say the £12,000 budget for the Together for Safer Communities has not been used because of the coroanvirus pandemic, with meetings suspended.

Each foodbank will benefit from a £1,670 donation from the council.

Another £480 will be spent by Basildon Council on face masks for those who are using the borough's foodbanks.

The foodbanks, include the Basildon Trussell Trust, the Billericay foodbank, Happy Hub, Helping Hand, the Salvation Army, and the Gateway Project.

Kerry Smith, councillor in charge of the housing and communities committee, said: "I’m really pleased we could agree to this £10,500 donation to support our borough’s foodbanks.

"They do such brilliant, selfless work across the whole of Basildon.

“Food banks rely on donations and we know there’s a strain on their services at the moment, so hopefully the additional funding will help them to provide resources to residents in the most need.

“We know these are difficult times for everyone, but if you are able to please consider donating to your local food bank either directly or via the drop off points within local supermarkets.”

A spokesman from the council added: "The council recognises the importance that foodbanks provide for residents who rely on their services, and so the decision was made on Tuesday evening to spend the remaining budget in this way, rather than carry it over into next year’s budget."