A CUMBRIAN village grocers is truly going above and beyond in response to the coronavirus outbreak, opening its own delivery service to support its local community.

Chestnut House in Pooley Bridge, on the northern tip of Ullswater, launched a local delivery service initially to support the most vulnerable individuals who were self-isolating.

Now, with the Government-ordered lockdown causing much more widespread disruption to communities across the Eden valley and beyond, the delivery service has grown - with the aim of supporting as many towns and villages as possible across the Eden area.

Darren Todd and owner Andrew Kaye have been working almost round-the-clock to get the service off the ground in such a short space of time.

Originally Darren’s idea to start the delivery service in the wake of so many vulnerable people forced into self-isolation as a result of coronavirus, Andrew said Chestnut House now had things running smoothly enough to more easily cope with the explosion in demand.

“We have massively focused on fresh because we have an excellent supply of local fresh food and that’s what people are asking for,” Andrew said.

“We have daily deliveries of fresh meat from Low Howgill Butchers & Deli, with fresh fruit and vegetables from Stephensons of Appleby.

“Other local suppliers include North Lakes Foods and Appleby Creamery, Coffee Care, Lakeland Museli and Traybakes.”

The deliveries have been made possible thanks to the free loan of a van from Appleby-based Eden Commercial Van Sales.

Darren expressed his sincere thanks to the company for the free loan of the van.

“It means we can reach more people every day – and with the support of our many volunteers who want to help with deliveries, it means what we are doing is more sustainable,” he said.

To place an order, customers should call the shop on 017684 86444 with a list of the goods that they need.

Andrew is proud to be able to say Chestnut Hose is rising to the challenges coronavirus has brought, and is helping the local community through the crisis.

“This local initiative demonstrates the ability of local businesses to work together, adapt, innovate and offer a service to the local community in a time of need,” he said.

“And when the threat from Covid-19 has gone, and life returns to normal, there’s a better chance that local businesses will still be around.”