A 'public living room' designed to be a place where people can 'look out for each other' is opening in Kent.

It will open at the Golf Road Community Centre in Deal, and will host weekly opportunities for people to come together, chat and enjoy a drink.

The initiative is part of the Camerados movement, which holds the belief that the simple act of being more human by ‘looking out for each other’ can be transformative, especially when people are experiencing tough times.

People in the movement sometimes call each other Camerados and 'want more folk in society to look out for each other'.

The Deal 'public living room' has been set up by Gill Walshe, who came across the Camerados movement when she visited another 'living room', which is held at the BeChange Community Hub in Aylesham, near Dover.

Gill, from the Golf Road Community Centre, said: "After seeing the success at BeChange Community Hub in Aylesham, we thought we would like to see Camerados here at The Golf Road Community Centre.

"We have a beautiful welcoming centre with a public space that would be perfect for a public living room.”

The meets in Deal will take place every Wednesday from 4pm until 5pm, with the first session on Wednesday, February 2.

The Camerados movement was founded by Maff Potts in 2015.

Mr Potts spent 20 years as CEO of a number of charities and housing associations and rewrote the UK government’s policy for homeless centres.

He now believes that real social change comes from social movements.

The first public living room was set up in Sheffield in 2016.

Since then people have been setting them up in their communities across the UK and the world - from hospitals to universities, libraries to community centres, in cafes and even on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mr Potts said: "The public realm is divided into two types of places: places that sell you stuff and places that fix you.

"What if there was an agenda-free, no outcomes place where you had permission to be rubbish?

"It’s amazing what happens when you come in without the intention of trying to fix people.

"People often have the answers themselves."

Anyone can join the movement. For more information, visit camerados.org