A PUB has launched a breakfast club to support families affected by autism.

The White Hart, in Hart Road, Benfleet, has started opening its doors every Sunday between 10am and midday.

Mandy Connor, 49, who runs the pub, said the idea for the club started from a brief conversation with the family of an autism sufferer earlier this year.

It was launched five weeks ago as a monthly session, but the club will now be held weekly following demand.

In the future, Ms Connor plans to open it up to people with any disability.

Mandy said: "We did something a few years ago to support a group of students from Seevic College who had a disability, and this kind of follows on from it."

She added: “I was chatting with the family of a guy with autism, and we were chatting about the struggle people face with the condition. So it seemed right to do something about it.

“It’s been going for about five weeks, and in the past fortnight we’ve focused more on promoting it.

“We started off with the intention of doing a breakfast club monthly, but because of the interest we’ve had, it’s now going to be a weekly club.

“Long term, we’re looking to open this up to anybody with a disability too. It’s all about creating a non pressured environment where families can just relax and interact without worrying."

Mandy believes a pub environment creates the perfect opportunity for autistic people to practice social skills.

She said: “Given that autism has a spectrum, different people are affected in different ways. If some are severely autistic, then often it can feel as though they are in their own world.

“For most people, the rules of social interaction come naturally, but having autism can make it difficult to communicate with other people and to make sense of social situations.

“Through no fault of their own, many people with autism and their families find themselves isolated. But in a friendly environment, like a pub or restaurant, this gives people the chance to practice social skills."

The National Autistic Society describes the condition as “a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others.”

Autism is also regarded a spectrum condition, which that people can share certain difficulties, but will be affected in different ways.

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