CHRISTMAS can be a tough time for families struggling financially, with lots of expectations to spend big – and the problems they face have only been exacerbated by additional financial challenges caused by the coronavirus crisis.

But one Hexham business made sure everyone had some festive cheer at the end of a year when it was sorely needed.

The Hexham Courant launched a campaign in April with the aim of celebrating businesses going above and beyond, identifying their special efforts by crowing them Trader of the Week.

This week, the winners are the team at Mole Country Stores on the Corbridge Road in Hexham, thanks to their offer of free Christmas trees to families who haven’t been able to purchase one.

Anyone who needed a tree could call the store and collect a tree, no questions asked.

Manager Stef Willey said: “Basically it’s just the ones we had left. We’d given out quite a few and we still had one or two left.

“It has been a tough year, and it’s a nice thing to do.

“Hexham has a very large community spirit. It’s a great place to live.

“You just don’t want people not to have a tree at Christmas.”

The store recently secured the multiple store of the year award at the SQP awards, while Stef herself was named farm SQP of the year.

Judges said the store, on Corbridge Road in Hexham, had firmly established itself as part of the community, and their praise of the store’s community connections was echoed in awarding Stef’s award.

“Stefanie and her team have strong relationships with customers,” the winners statement said, “ensuring a good conversation and enabling the correct information to be obtained before a prescription medicine sale is made.

“She has forged relationships with customers, meaning that she is the go-to person for help and advice with their animals.

“She listens and ensures that clients adopt the correct technical approach to resolve their problem.”

Stef added: “It’s nice to give something back to the community. We’ve all supported each other throughout this crisis.

“We’re all classed as key workers because we sell veterinary medicine, and people have come to us to get things they normally wouldn’t come here to get.”

Mole was founded by a small group of North Devon farmers in 1960 who came together to create a new farmers’ buying group.

Over time, the company has grown to become one of the country’s leading agricultural supply businesses, and now employs more than 2,000 people across the UK across 56 retail locations.

In 2013, it acquired Farmway, a North-East based farmer controlled agricultural supply company, which operated a store on the Corbridge Road in Hexham that has since been rebranded as a Mole Country Store.