AS volunteers in West Devon pull out all the stops to help those without a support network, emergency food parcels are being distributed to people at home alone.

Help is being focused on those who are at serious risk if they contract coronavirus, who must have food and medicines delivered.

County council officials who would ordinarily be enforcing car parking — free during the crisis — have been helping delivering emergency seven-day packages of food.

‘Our absolute focus at the moment is to rapidly deliver vital support to our resident with the highest medical needs that put them at the greatest risk,’ said Devon County Council chief executive Phil Norrey.

‘The rigorous “shielding” measures include minimising interaction by staying at home at all times and avoiding any face-to-face contact to prevent being exposed to the virus.

‘We’re working with our district and city council colleagues to make sure these extremely vulnerable members of our communities continue to get the food, medicines and additional care they need as quickly as possible.’

Ursula Mann from voluntary help group Tavistock Locals Help said there had been a big demand for help from people self-isolating, with 200 phonecalls to their helpline so far, 80% being for help collecting shopping and prescriptions. ‘We have had a lot of relatives contact us from out of town on behalf of families out of town and we have been able to deliver food that they pay for,’ she said. ‘People are so relieved to realise that they don’t have to figure it out themselves, that they are not on their own.’

She said loneliness was going to be the ‘next big challenge’ of the coronavirus crisis. ‘I think a lot of people were already lonely but this has added an extra level for people who were getting weekly visits from friends and family.’

In Okehampton, Debra Travers, of the Okehampton Coronavirus – Covid-19 Support Group, has been helping people isolated in their own homes, drawing on offers of help from hundreds of volunteers. Among those she has helped are a couple isolating for health reasons with a baby and an elderly deaf man whose family live on the other side of the country. ‘It is so nice to see the community coming together like this,’ she said. ‘I did’t realise we had so many lovely people here. It is so uplifting.’

Mayor of West Devon Tony Leech said the crisis had brought out a ‘wartime spirit’ in people in the borough.

‘It never ceases to amaze me that during troubled times, how well communities come together to help each other,’ he said.Tavistock Locals Help can be contacted on 0800 046 5531. See also www.tavistocklocalshelp.co.uk