Sidmouth's Ashley Leeds, who's been entertaining neighbours by playing his guitar in his garden since the first lockdown, is planning something special for his 200th gig early next month.

Ashley was named as one of Devon's 100 Lockdown Legends by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum last summer, in recognition of the way his cheerful guitar performances lifted people's spirits.

When he started in March 2020 he played every day, but reduced this to Monday, Wednesday and Friday later in the year when the restrictions were eased.

His 200th performance will take place at 6pm on Friday, February 5, and will be streamed live on Facebook.

'I realised what I was doing wasn't just for me'

Ashley, who works from home, told Sidmouth Nub News he started the gigs to give him something to do during his lunch break in the first lockdown.

He said: "When we were told that we could not leave home except once per day for exercise I wondered what I would do with my lunch hour, as I usually go for a walk to help get a break.

"I used my one time out for a morning walk and enjoyed the quiet and beautiful mornings walking the coastal path, but my lunchtimes needed something for me to do to get away from my computer.

"As I'm learning to play the guitar, I thought that I would stream a gig live on Facebook and, as my garden is overlooked by retirement flats, this would benefit the local residents with a bit of music too.

"Sadly, the mooted initial three weeks turned into quite a few more and I continued playing every lunchtime during the lockdown. Even when restrictions started to be lifted I carried on until I reached the crazy milestone of 100 continuous live gigs.

"We had a sort of special gig and a surprise celebration (observing the restrictions of the time, so it wasn't massive) for the 100th gig and it was then that I realised that what I was doing wasn't just for me and that I had helped many people cope with the lockdown."

Ashley performs under the name Just Dandy and plays a mixture of popular songs and his own compositions. He has added some evening concerts in his home, when he dresses up, adds flashing lights and opens a Zoom room so that he can interact with his audience – which usually numbers at least 50 people.

For his 200th gig, people attending via Facebook will be invited to choose the setlist. To view the page, and get the Zoom link to the concert, visit the Just Dandy Facebook page.