A man who has led the campaign to feed the hungry in Ealing has been hailed a hero by those he helped.

Chris Sutton, the steering group chairman for the Ealing Foodbank and who is also involved in setting up others, was put forward for an Ealing Gazette Pride in Our People Award.

The woman who nominated him, and asked to remain anonymous, said: "I speak for a lot of people in thanking Chris and all the volunteers who help him for helping people like me. I was quite embarrassed to go along to Ealing Foodbank and ask for help, but I was welcomed and made to feel OK.

“People just think we are scroungers, but it’s not true. We are just struggling to cope at the moment and people like Chris are life-savers for having these foodbanks. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Chris, 69, who was stunned to be nominated, was quick to point out that the foodbanks could not exist without the backing of 50 churches, the steering group and a phalanx of volunteers.

He said: “I have a huge appreciation and gratitude to them all. It is not a one-man effort. We are a team and I could not have done this without them all. It’s nice to know we are all appreciated.”

Ealing Foodbank was launched in Acton last October, closely followed by Greenford, with others in Hanwell, Northolt and Southall due to open by the summer. They will operate on different days and are run by trained volunteers. Donations are still coming in from schools, organisations and individuals.

Father of three Chris is a former teacher and a current member of Redeemer, a new Christian church. He not heard of foodbanks until his leader asked him to look into starting one in Ealing.

He added: “In just four months we have fed over 600 people. Several churches have regular collection points and we are still getting lots of donations. The public are amazingly generous. When I was first asked to look into a foodbank for Ealing I realised we would need more than one. With five centres we should be able to cover the whole week. People come out beaming from ear to ear, overwhelmed with the food they have been given.”

He said some people admitted they were ashamed or embarrassed to come and the volunteers took great pains to make them feel relaxed and welcome.