The Tucker Van was back on the road on Tuesday night for the first time in a month and the response was positive.

Almost 20 people used the service and, thanks to a surge of new volunteers, the van will be operational again three nights a week, including tonight.

David Buckby, the brains behind the operation, is pleased the community service is back.

“I felt terrible that the van was off the road for so long, because people rely on our service, but we are back now and will continue three nights a week,” Mr Buckby said.

“We generally have 30 to 40 people come in a night, but it will take a while for the word to get around again that we are back.

“To have 17 people on the first night back, on a rainy night, shows how important this community service is.

“Tonight I am expecting double what we had on Tuesday night.”

The van was out of action for the past month as Mr Buckby had a knee replacement and volunteer numbers were dropping.

“Since the article in the paper we had a huge response, people generally do want to help,” he said.

“We are always looking for more volunteers, especially on Saturday night, even if people can spare an hour a week or a month, that will help.

“Saturday night used to be one of the busiest, if we can’t find enough volunteers to run the van on Saturday nights, we might need to change to another night.”

The van, which delivers hot meals to needy people, operates Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights from 6pm until 7pm on Bonnor Street, opposite the Kelso Community Centre.

Food that is left over is frozen and can be picked up from the Men’s Shed.

If you want to volunteer call David on 0414 768 160.