What started out as delivering essentials to residents has now turned into a click and collect website for this west Dorset community shop.

Broadwindsor Community Stores wanted to continue with its collection service as customers had found it so useful during lockdown.

It started as a phone service with the team at the store having fresh fruit and vegetables supplied specifically to customers’ orders, allowing them to offer more variety than what they can stock in the shop. They then added fresh meat from MDS in Bridport and bread from Evershot Bakery before customers started asking for groceries, household items and even wild bird seed. The online range continues to increase.

Sandra Burrows, of the Broadwindsor Community Stores delivery team, said: “We organised deliveries of essentials from the shop in March because we found a lot of people in our community had to shield during lockdown but supermarkets did not have enough slots.

“We had no idea when we started this would lead to a click and collect website by August.

“When deliveries to our shielding customers came to an end, our customers told us they wanted to continue to support their local shop, so we created a new easy to use website.

“It’s been a really busy few months since March as we had to create new systems during a stressful period. Volunteers took orders by phone from home twice a week.”

The village hall even allowed the team to use the hall as they didn’t have enough space in the shop to fulfil the deliveries and collections.

Sandra added: “We are lucky to have a brilliant team of new and existing volunteers just getting on with what needs to be done ably supported by our shop staff who totally stepped up to the mark.

“Getting thank you cards from customers and so many wonderful comments from the community has been wonderful and made all the hard work of the last few months worthwhile. That’s why community shops in villages are so important, we’re there when we are needed.

“All the hard work from volunteers, staff, those who created the shop seven years ago to those picking fruit and veg for collection day makes it all run smoothly.

“We hope our new easy to use online service proves useful to Broadwindsor and our wider community around the village.”