Shropshire Star

Volunteer-led Shropshire village shop closed to protect customers

A volunteer-led shop in south Shropshire has closed its doors temporarily to protect its elderly customers amid coronavirus fears.

Published
Lydbury North Community Village Shop

Lydbury North Community Village Shop, which has been open for 17 years, has a team of almost 50 volunteers helping out behind the counter on the site near Bishop's Castle.

The committee who run the shop has taken action to stop the spread of coronavirus and said it was "not an easy decision to make" to close the shop.

Bosses said they recognise the value of the shop to the community at this difficult time but it is ultimately for the safety of volunteers and customers.

In a statement, the committee said: "Several of our wonderful volunteers have decided that for their own health reasons they do not wish to work in the shop during the coronovirus outbreak, and we very much respect their decisions.

"Increasingly, the volunteers who were content to continue are feeling uneasy about the situation and correspondingly there are now only a few volunteers happy about continuing.

More coverage:

"Staying open over this period is encouraging our customers, a number of whom fall into the 'vulnerable' category, to visit the shop daily – against Government advice.

"Our best attempts to keep our customers and volunteers safe has not been without difficulties and we do not wish to contribute to the spread of the virus.

"Many of our suppliers are increasingly telling us they can not supply us over the coming weeks. Our stocks are depleted, and we are reaching a point where we are unable to supply the 'essentials'."

The store is located in a bungalow building owned by South Shropshire Housing Association, to which the shop pays rent.

The committee added: "We know that the Lydbury North community will look out for it's vulnerable residents and help them where needed.

"We shall revisit this decision in a few weeks time in the hope that we can be up and running again as soon as it is safe and viable to do so."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.