LOVE was spread throughout a community by restaurant owners who wanted to cheer people up.

Georgina and John Baker, co-owners of the Millside Restaurant in Lyme Regis, spent more than seven hours on Valentine's Day delivering red roses and messages to members of the community.

In the weeks leading up to the occasion, Georgina and John sourced and set up a red post box outside of their restaurant. Residents were then encouraged to put a card in the box addressed to a loved one, which would then be delivered with the duo, accompanied by a red rose – all paid for by the owners of the Millside.

A total of 167 messages, each with an accompanying red rose, were delivered across the area on the day – with Georgina and John spending seven and a half hours spreading some happiness to the community, in spite of the February downpour.

Georgina, co-owner of the Millside Restaurant, located on Mill Lane next to the town mill said: “The idea behind it was that we just wanted to try to cheer people up. We wanted to spread some love and community spirit during such a difficult time for the community.

“It has been such a tough lockdown this time and we wanted to do our bit to help to cheer up the community.

“We saw a lot of smiling faces and it further helped us get to know the locals. Seeing how happy people were and how excited they were to receive a gift and get to have a chat with someone different, along with how welcoming they have been to us in general, made it worth delivering through the wind and rain on the day.”

Georgina and John moved to Lyme Regis from London in late 2019 after purchasing the restaurant. Originally from Dorset, Georgina particularly liked the idea of their two-year-old daughter, Darcy, growing up near the beach.

After initially opening in December 2019, the Millside underwent some renovations in January 2020 and was only open for two months of the year before being hit by the stop-start nature of the three national lockdowns.

Georgina said: “I think everyone is looking forward to being able to reopen over the next few months - hopefully everyone is able to get out and enjoy the summer.

“We’re almost booked up for April already and we have taken bookings as far away as October. I think people are desperate to get out and enjoy their lives. I’m sure most venues in the area will be very busy.

She added: “We’re really looking forward to being able reopen and get to know the community even further.”