A SINGING group whose members have been diagnosed with dementia made their first public appearance at Stretford Mall to entertain Christmas shoppers.

Over the past year Stretford Mall has worked with Alzheimer’s Society in Trafford to host events as part of the shopping centre’s commitment to be officially dementia friendly.

The latest of these came when the Singing for the Brain choir went along to sing a full repertoire of carols and other festive songs in the Love Coffee café by special permission of its managers. The group’s special guest for the session was Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, who has also lent her support to the Dementia Friendly campaign.

Regular member, Sue Taylor’s husband Phil, 70, said: “One of the things the Alzheimer’s Society is doing to help people like Sue is running a small singing group as part of its Singing for the Brain project.

“It’s been shown that singing can help dementia sufferers in a number of ways, including helping with their memory and concentration."

* Anyone interested in finding out more about the events at Stretford Mall should visit stretfordmall.com or visit the Mall’s Facebook page or Twitter account @StretfordMall