Parents and babies are invited to new weekly gatherings at selected M&S cafés, including in Winchester.

Starting from every Tuesday after September 3, between 9.30-11.30am, Winchester cafés, alongside M&S's Southampton West Quay, Whiteley Village Farm, Basingstoke, will host these meet ups, aimed at nurturing local community bonds amongst parents.

These events are part of M&S's new 'parent hood' baby club, launched via their Sparks loyalty scheme.

This club offers members up to £250 savings annually, access to events and advice for parents.

On signing the 'Parent Pledge', members will receive offers such as a free piece of cake every week with a hot drink purchase and ten per cent off from the baby grows range for a year.

Rachel Cranwell, M&S regional manager, said: "Our teams cannot wait to launch our new baby and parent meet ups in-store next month. Becoming a parent is a fantastic experience but it’s important to have support and we want the meet ups to really bring together the local community.

"The latest stats show over 12,000 babies are born in a year across Hampshire, so I’m hoping we can raise awareness of the parent hood among all those new parents!"