FRESH fruit and vegetables will be on the menu for families in need across Hampshire, thanks to the cancellation of luxury liner Aurora's round-the-world cruise.

P& O, owners of the £200m ill-fated ship, are donating three and a half tonnes of top quality produce, which had been reserved for its 1,752 passengers, to the Southampton City and Region Action To Combat Hardship (SCRATCH) charity.

The host of exotic goods, including melons, bananas and pineapples, is enough to feed about 100 vulnerable and homeless people in the area for a few days.

SCRATCH administration manager Annette Davis said: "It's absolutely marvellous that P&O are giving us their fresh fruit and vegetables. They will go to those who need it.

"It's a real bonus to receive the produce, particularly as we often tend to struggle a bit at this time of year. It's good that some people will be able to benefit from this unfortunate incident."

SCRATCH, which manages Christian social action projects, was originally set up by Southampton City Mission and relies heavily on volunteers for all of its work and on donations from the public.

It aims to relieve the effects of poverty in Southampton and surrounding areas and will distribute the produce to its Basics Bank and Crisis Fairshare projects, which provide emergency food for those in need.

A P & O spokesman said: "We are pleased to be able to offer this high quality produce to a very deserving and worthwhile cause."