SOUTHAMPTON'S new Basics Bank has received a visit from former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith.

The service has just moved from Northam to the old St Mary's doctor's surgery in James Street, where it distributes food and clothing to the city's poorest families.

Mr Duncan Smith, chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, dropped in to meet volunteers and Basics Bank manager Lynne Cooper to find out more about how the charity is tackling poverty in one of the south's wealthiest cities.

The Basics Bank, run by Christian charity Southampton City and Region Action to Combat Hardship, helps about 7,000 people a year who cannot afford to feed themselves.