Christmas is a time for giving, and for one cinema that’s exactly what they’re doing.

As a thank you to emergency service workers, The Carlton Cinema in Westgate-on-Sea is offering them a free ticket to see a film over the festive period.

A post on the cinema’s Facebook page said: “Merry Christmas to all our essential emergency services.

“We would like to say a big thank you to all of those people that work so hard to make the place we live in better, our streets safer, and our health, er...healthier.

“If you work in the police, fire service, military, NHS, HM coastgaurd or for the RNLI, we would like to offer you a free ticket to see the film of your choice at The Carlton over the festive period.”

The offer began on Friday, December 1 and finishes on Sunday, December 31.

Free tickets can only be claimed at the box office as they can’t be processed using the cinema’s web or phone booking systems. Valid ID must be provided.

A spokesman from the cinema said: “We decided to do it because it seems that they dint get much thanks a lot of the time, so we thought we’d do something nice to give something back.”

The seasonal gesture has been met with positivity from locals who say it is ‘much appreciated’ and a ‘wonderful gesture from a business that is already such good value’.