Emergency plan used

WHITCHURCH has coped with the coronavirus crisis by putting its emergency plan into action.

The document, which was only published a month ago, outlines how villagers can get support and information in the event of an emergency.

It names 10 co-ordinators who are responsible for passing news to everyone in their area and helping those in need.

These volunteers are now helping anyone who is self-isolating by carrying out shopping and other daily tasks on their behalf.

They are being supported by a team of more than 30 additional villagers who have agreed to step in until the lockdown passes. A leaflet has been circulated naming a contact for every street.

John Bradon, who is
co-ordinating the group, said: “I’ve been very pleased with the response because we’re not a very big village so to get that many offers of help is encouraging.

“We haven’t actually had that many people calling us yet but it’s good to know we’re ready. It’s mostly requests for shopping and prescriptions.

“Having the emergency plan in place gave us a strong start but it has definitely snowballed into a much bigger effort.”