A charity has warned the decline of local newspapers is leaving older people “isolated” amid claims by an MP that the elderly are ringing his office to ask for news following the closure of their weekly paper.

Contact the Elderly says a lack of available local print media is contributing to “feelings of isolation”, with the charity claiming half of older people have never been on the internet.

The charity’s warning comes after Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, said his office had begun receiving requests from people asking for news updates following Reach plc’s decision to close free weekly the Harlow Star last month.

Mr Halfon, pictured, told the BBC that the absence of printed local newspapers had left many older people “disenfranchised”.

He said: “I described [the Star’s closure] as a tragedy – and people accused me of hyperbole but I stand by my words. People are completely isolated.

“Especially if they’re elderly, they’ve no idea what’s going on, what’s happening to the hospital, what the council are deciding, what the schools are doing, what their grandchildren are doing.”

Mr Halfon’s feelings have been echoed by Contact the Elderly, which is a national charity solely dedicated to tackling loneliness and social isolation.

Volunteer Nyree Ambarchian told the BBC: “I see first-hand that these issues are contributing to feelings of isolation.

“Slowly but surely, the local fabric of our communities is being eroded by things like the decline of local newspapers, which older people rely heavily on as a source of information and communication.”

The charity’s chief executive Meryl Davies added: “We always imagine that the internet is everywhere but half of the older people in the UK have never been online.”

Reach has previously said it took the decision to close the Star, along with the Herts and Essex Observer and the Buckinghamshire Advertiser and Examiner, due to a “continued decline in local print advertising”.