A local man is delighted that he has a legitimate excuse for being the only one to turn up to his birthday party again this year.

Darren Neville is celebrating his 40th birthday today and he’ll be celebrating it alone, like he has his last seven birthdays, although this time he has a good excuse.

‘It’s the responsible thing to do right now, with the coronavirus and everything going on,’ he told us. ‘I wouldn’t want to put anyone at undue risk, it’s not like it’s a special birthday or anything.’

Darren’s birthday parties have become a lonely affair ever since his small group of friends started getting married off and having children.

‘It always used to be me, Dave and Bazza. Then Dave and Bazza got married and they don’t go out so much, not since they adopted two kids,’ Darren said.

Mr Neville will instead post a picture of himself drinking a beer and having a slice of cake on Facebook. He’s hoping to beat last year’s record of five likes.

‘There’s a lot of people stuck indoors who are scrolling Facebook all night so this could be a big one for me,’ he said.