Hundreds of north Cumbrian women are connecting with each other through a new online group aimed at creating a supportive environment for women. 

The Girls Club Carlisle is a Facebook group that provides a judgement-free space for women and girls to make new friends, meet people who share their interests, and plan days out.

It was set-up by Janie-ann Shuttleworth on Saturday October 5 and has since been joined by 810 people at the time of writing. 

Janie-ann, 35, said: "I'm quite surprised, actually.

"I thought that there would be maybe a few people that responded but I think we've got about 810 members just in this week.

"Then on the back of that, I've made lots of different group chats for people with all different interests so we've got group chats for meeting for coffee, for hiking in the lakes and swimming, for dog walks, nights out, loads of different ones and we've already had people meeting up."

Janie-ann, who is a third year student nurse, decided to set-up the group after studying a public health module at university which covers health disparities. 

Isolation, loneliness, and the impact this has on physical and mental health, particularly post-Covid, kept coming up and she'd also seen a few posts on social media pages from people who were saying they were struggling to make friends. 

People may be struggling to meet people after moving to the area for university or work, or they might be working from home a lot so don't get a chance to meet people but, sometimes life takes over and friendships fizzle out, she said.

"That's quite a brave thing to do, isn't it? To put yourself out there and be very vulnerable and say 'I'm struggling'.

"So I thought it'd be nice to set the group up so that if people did reach out like that, they've got something to support them."

The Girls Club has organised two upcoming events that are open to the public for women looking to make new friends.

The 'find your tribe' events will be held at The Border Rambler on October 24 and 27.

And, there are plenty of other exciting plans in the works for the future.

If you're struggling with your mental health, please reach out to professional services such as your GP or North Cumbria Talking Therapies for support.