A campaign to support the high street and keep people shopping local to Bridport is gaining pace with more than 80 businesses now taking part.

The Totally Locally initiative is shining a spotlight on independent businesses and the importance of shopping local. The focus for the ‘Magic Tenner’ campaign is to highlight how spending £10 grows as it moves around the town and injects extra cash into the local economy.

Posters are going up in shop windows declaring how many other independent businesses the town's shops and services use to supply them or work with them.

Campaigners say it’s a great opportunity for the community to find out which other firms independents recommend locally. It’s also a chance for businesses to find future suppliers or people they can work with.

Antonia Squire from the Totally Locally Bridport Team said: "Magic Tenner stories are everywhere. Take the Olive Tree Restaurant on East Street: amongst the business supplying them are their neighbours Bridport PC Repair and Footeprints, further along the road fresh vegetables are supplied by Bridget’s Market, Hanger’s Dairy for milk, Mercato Italiano on Dreadnaught Trading Estate for those hard to find delicacies, fine wines are supplied by Selected Grapes on St Michael’s and Furleigh Estate out in Salwayash, back in Bridport’s North Mills trading estate accountants Donovan and Atyeo provide financial services."

She added: "The Magic Tenner highlights the less visible businesses which contribute to the smooth running of those we frequent: the window cleaner, the sign writer, the local magazines used to promote and advertise, it soon adds up and will probably reach the thousands if we collected up all the businesses together. This spider's web of supply chains is what makes the biggest difference to the local economy."

The team said the campaign has got off to a slower start than anticipated.

The original plan was to feature 60 businesses over a period of ten weeks, with the team fairly confident that those firms would see the value of the campaign.

But with more than 80 businesses now signed up the team are thrilled to increase the scope.

The Totally Locally Bridport team of volunteers are busy collecting forms and logging the newly signed up businesses, and photographer Pete Millson is visiting businesses to capture the faces of the people behind the scenes, as well as familiar faces in the high street shops.

The TIC is said to be hugely supportive as well and a Magic Tenner gallery will be going up in Bucky Doo Square that will be added to. Next on the agenda is a local shopping map so customers can follow some of those Magic Tenner trails.

Any business wanting to know more or support the campaign should email Kim on totallylocallybridport@gmail.com. Instagram: @totallylocallybridport. Facebook: @totallylocallybridport