A club that provides community and activities for 'lonely' women across the UK has opened a branch in Stoke-on-Trent. 

The Lonely Girls Club was founded in 2018 by Holly Cooke after she moved from Stoke-on-Trent to London on her own and found herself seeking friendship and community. 

Since then, the organisation has grown with over 160,000 community members across eight cities, with Stoke-on-Trent as the latest addition. 

The first Stoke Lonely Girls Club event, which was sold-out, took place on 17 January and the next is planned for Saturday 21 February at the Slamwich Club in Hanley. 

Holly said: "I moved to London from Stoke and quickly realised I'd moved totally solo. 

"I literally didn't know anyone in the city, and I realised that making friends as an adult when you're outside of education is actually really quite tricky." 

She added: "I had the idea that there must be other people that are feeling similar to me, I can't be the only one.  

"So I set up a very small Facebook group with the hope that I personally could meet one or two friends who maybe could introduce me to their friends, with a bit of a snowball effect. 

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"And somewhere along the line we've gone from five girls going for coffee in Covent Garden and 20 people in a Facebook group to becoming one of the UK's largest communities for women." 

There are a range of activities to take part in such as craft clubs (image via Lonely Girls Club)

The Lonely Girls Club hosts a range of activities and encourages women to come alone to make new connections and friendships. 

The club, which has branches in cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh, has hosted events including friendship speed dating, walks, book clubs, and craft sessions. 

Holly explained that Lonely Girls Club likes to work with local businesses and more events are being planned for Stoke-on-Trent such as walks, sip and paints with a local illustrator and pottery painting. 

She said: "Pottery painting is massively popular in all our cities but Stoke is the heartland of where that comes from." 

The events are tailored to encourage women over the age of 18, with no upper age limit, to come on their own and talk to new people.  

The activities are designed to provide easy discussion points, and team members are present to ensure that no body gets left out. 

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Safety is also a priority for the club which means that more daytime activities are organised during the winter to minimise the need to travel alone in the dark. 

Holly hopes that connections made during these events can grow beyond the Lonely Girls Club so that women can forge genuine friendships within their city. 

"It's just about stepping out of your comfort zone," Holly said. 

"It's terrifying - there's no two ways about it. 

"For most people, it's anxiety inducing to go to an event alone so even just joining a community like ours is an incredible first step." 

 She added: "It is scary, but everybody else there feels that too. 

"You're not the only one that's nervous, the likelihood is that everyone feels that way, so you're kind of in the same boat together." 

The next Lonely Girls Club event will take place on Saturday 21 February at the Slamwich Club. 

For more information about the Lonely Girls Club, visit the website here. 

To join the community for free, sign up to the Lonely Girls Club newsletter or join the Stoke Facebook community group.