THE owners of an award-winning village pub, which has been hit by closure due to Covid-19, have put their empty pub and spare time to good use by turning it into the base for a community support group.

The Hexham Courant has launched a campaign looking for businesses going above and beyond in the community, identifying their special efforts by crowing them Trader of the Week.

The Feathers Inn at Hedley-on-the-Hill made the decision to close around two weeks ago, shortly before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all pubs, bars and restaurants would have to close to slow the spread of the virus.

But since then, owners Rhian Craddock and Helen Greer have been ensuring that older and vulnerable residents in their village have the necessities they need.

Helen said that after the announcement that vulnerable people should self isolate for 12 weeks, they decided to turn the focus of the already-formed Hedley Community Group to supporting those who should not be leaving their homes.

“People had suggested things to keep the pub going like take-aways, but we felt our number one priority had to be to ensure vulnerable people were OK,” Helen said.

“The vulnerable category covers a lot of people in the village.

“The feedback we have had is that it’s a massive relief for people that they don’t have to go to the shops, but they don’t have to face any shortages either.”

Along with other volunteers, they delivered information letters to local residents about how they could get in touch to make food orders.

Helen and Rhian have been collecting orders and placing them with their normal suppliers.

Once the food is delivered to the pub, they package orders up in paper bags and deliver them on foot to houses around the village, leaving them on people’s doorsteps.

They are not making a profit from running the scheme, and Helen said that by remaining in the pub, staying isolated themselves and not having contact with the delivery drivers, they ensured the process was carried out in the safest way possible.

Rhian has also been baking bread for locals on a Saturday, while Helen said they had been able to help people out with other tasks such as having their newspapers delivered to their homes.

“I think the most important thing for us was that because of the high number of vulnerable people in the village, we wanted to be able to reach out to them,” said Rhian.

“There is so much to worry about at the moment that we wanted to be able to take one of those worries away.

“We have always seen the role of the pub as being a hub for the community, and even though we are closed we are making sure it still is.”

Anyone in Hedley who would like to get in touch with the Feathers Inn can ring (01661) 843607 or email feathersinn@googlemail.com