A new pop-up Citizens Advice service hosted by a Warwick business has been helping people access vital extra services and information, building on the range of services available to people in need in the town.

The Citizens Advice Mobile Advice Centre (MAC) has started parking weekly in the car park at McDonald's on Emscote Road, delivering a range of advice and support.

The pop-up service is the first time Warwick residents have been able to access in-person from two fully-trained Citizens Advice staff for help with issues from understanding energy bills to ensuring they are getting the right support, as well as help with energy trust funds and applications.

As part of the Cadent-funded project, the advisors can also provide help and support with Housing, Employment issues, Relationship Breakdown, Consumer and Benefit checks.

People Arches Ltd founder Dawood Ibtehsam said: "We have always said we want to contribute to the community, and not just in words, but in actions.

"Seeing the take-up of services provided by the Citizens Advice MAC since it started parking weekly in our car park is huge for us, and we're thrilled to be helping people access face to face advice and information they might otherwise not be able to."

The Citizens Advice Mobile Advice Centre (MAC) has started parking weekly in the car park at McDonald's on Emscote Road, delivering a range of advice and support (image supplied)

Since the service started at McDonald's on 12 September, users have included: people who had free benefit checks to see if they're entitled to extra income; people who were referred to a debt adviser and people who were added to the priority service register for gas, electric and water.

The MAC also provided housing advice, free food vouchers for the Trussell Trust, and free carbon monoxide alarms.

The initiative is the latest partnership between People Arches Ltd, the company behind the McDonald's on Emscote Road, with local services in order to help the community access vital assistance when they need it most.

The business already teamed up with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind to offer a site for its wellbeing vehicle to park, offering a mobile 'Safe Haven' for those suffering mental health distress, which also attracted record numbers of service users in the period it ran, leading to an extension of the service.

People Arches is also staging a coffee club with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind on Fridays, giving people the opportunity to enjoy a free hot drink while meeting with others, getting advice and support where needed and also simply reducing the impact of loneliness or isolation.

Ibtehsam added: "It's clear from this and from the record numbers of people who accessed the Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind mobile Safe Haven that there really is a need for community-focused services like this in Warwick.

"With that in mind, we're now exploring how we can help provide a permanent home in the town for these vital services so we can truly help the community on a long-term basis."

The Citizens Advice MAC parks weekly at McDonald's on a Friday afternoon from 1pm to 5pm, while Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind stage coffee mornings every Friday in McDonald's from 9am to 11am.