Tens of thousands of copies of two sister dailies are to be given away for free in a new initiative to help the lonely and vulnerable at Christmas.

DC Thomson Media has announced the launch of the scheme, which will make a total of 25,000 copies of Dundee daily The Courier and Aberdeen daily the Press & Journal available to care homes and hospitals.

The scheme, which is being run with BT, launched last week and will run until Christmas Eve.

The Yorkshire Post also announced last month it was giving away 25,000 copies to lonely and vulnerable people on its patch after it secured external funding from Barclays.

A beneficiary of the scheme with his copy of the Courier

DC Thomson says the move will also “guarantee readers get access to accurate public health information as the new vaccine is rolled out”.

Richard Neville, DC Thomson’s head of news brands, said: “At DC Thomson Media we continually strive to provide our communities with quality journalism they can trust, and we’re thrilled to partner with BT to make sure we reach readers who perhaps can’t get out to pick up their copy.”

Jane Wood, BT Group Scotland director, added: “We’re pleased to be able to work with The Courier and The Press and Journal on this brilliant initiative to make sure that people in care homes have access to their local paper in the run-up to Christmas.

“We know local newspapers play a vital role for many people in connecting with their local communities and the world.”