It's Christmas Day - but one café in Manchester remained open for a very special reason

It's Christmas morning in Manchester city centre. The streets are almost completely empty and all the shops have their shutters down.

But amid the desertedness of the city, one café was unusually busy. Homeless people waking up alone could enjoy a warm lunch and hot drink on a day where millions are celebrating the day with their loved ones.

The Pret A Manger coffee shop, on Cross Street, had its doors open to host the festive lunch. Sandwiched in by a line of other shops, closed up for the bank holiday, the lights were on, the fridges were stocked and coffee beans were being ground for hot drinks.

Working in collaboration with charity Two Brews, a homeless outreach group supporting those living and sleeping on the streets of the city, staff didn't seem to feel as though they were missing out on their own special day, but were instead beaming - a friendly smile on their faces to be helping others less fortunate than themselves.

Amanda Thompson, co-founder of Two Brews, was among an army of volunteers. They had already lapped the streets of the city centre throughout the morning, handing out wrapped gifts, food and hot drinks from the back of a van.

But the efforts didn't stop there. They worked with the coffee shop chain to open up the Cross Street branch for a festive lunch. The venue provided a warm space for people to come in from the outside, and spend time chatting, enjoying one another's company and enjoying lunch.

"We go out feeding the homeless and street service users. It's not just about those out on the streets, but everyone else who is in need. We are out seven days a week, 365 days a year," Amanda said.

"We started on Christmas Day in 2020 as an outreach group. We just took it from there, carried it on and