THE Wotton under Edge community has come together to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers have joined forces to form the Wotton Area Mutual Aid group and are working hard to provide important information, support people in self-isolation, and keep people’s spirits up.

The initiative is being led by Shaenna Loughnane, who runs Wotton based charity Bridge2Aid.

She said: “The community has been amazing.

“We have been truly overawed by those who have stepped up locally to support their neighbours and friends.

“A key part of what we’re doing is matching people up, putting people together in the community who need helping or who would like to help.

“It’s all going really well. We’ve got 300 volunteers now, and an automated system which has streamlined all our information. That’s now tied in with Lloyds Pharmacy. So we collect all the requests for prescriptions that need picking up, and then one person collects them and delivers them. This has helped cut down on the number of people going to the chemist.”

The group have also been delivering free soup, donated by a chef who made it in his quarantined kitchen, with ingredients given to him by local businesses.

The soup is being distributed from Wotton Baptist Church and will be available today (Thursday) free to anyone who needs it. Call 01453 844726 between 9am and 12pm to arrange a delivery.

“Volunteers are also phoning people who are on their own and would like to talk to someone.

“There are people who are on their own, with no family, friends or work colleagues, and don’t use a computer.

“They are at home, finding out what’s going on from the TV and then they have to sit with that information on their own, with no-one to discuss it with. They’re quite lonely and frightened and a friendly voice on the phone can make a difference.

“We’ve also printed 3000 leaflets, letting people know about us and how to get in touch, which are being distributed safely to homes in the local area.”

“The group who have joined together to get Wotton Area Mutual Aid off the ground and working have been amazing.

“You can’t do anything without a team of people with different skills but the same heart, working towards the same goal.”

Details via: buff.ly/394Hzl8 or call 0754 504 2794.