In four years, volunteer Dawn Birkett has ticked off 30,000 minutes of calls to her Call Companion Anne - that’s the equivalent of 500 hours, or an incredible 20 days.

“I do like to chat,” said 39-year-old Dawn, a mum of two from the West Midlands. “It’s my special gift. I’ve always been a chatterbox ever since I was quite young. And after I went to university my confidence just grew and I felt easy talking to anyone.

“My calls to Anne can go on for two or three hours. I don’t really notice the time, we just talk about anything and everything. She will tell me about her childhood, if she’s bought a new armchair, what’s happening with the royal family, astrology, TV shows. She wants to know how my children are doing. Nothing is off limits.

“I really enjoy the discussions. At first I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to expect and I wondered what we might talk about. But now we get on like a house on fire. I’m a bit surprised by the length of time we have spent talking to each other but it’s so easy to rack up the hours.

“Every Monday night I put the boys to bed, my husband makes himself busy, I get a cup of tea and then make the call to Anne. The time just flies and sometimes we can spend half an hour just saying goodbye.

“I will talk to anyone, in a shop, on a bus, it doesn’t matter where. And I particularly like talking to Anne because I know I’m helping someone who is lonely. She might not talk to anyone else some weeks. I would hate to let her down because I know how much the calls mean to her.”

Anne,70, is a widow and lives in the West Country, said: “Perhaps it seems like we talk for a long time but isn’t that what many people do? I really look forward to the calls when we talk about everything under the sun. 

“I can’t get out much so it’s good to talk to someone who listens, has an interest in a variety of things and allows you to express an opinion. We always have so much to say that the time just flies by. 

“Getting someone like Dawn to have a regular conversation with is far more than I ever expected and I certainly don’t take her calls for granted. I would be very upset if they ever ended.”