News in Sidmouth

On Easter Sunday, people will be able to catch up with the Sidmouth donkeys and mules by watching a series of live Facebook broadcasts from The Donkey Sanctuary.

For the first time ever, the international animal welfare charity will be bringing its visitor experience to the virtual world for a day of donkey interaction. Starting at 10am, viewers will be able to see how donkey-facing staff at the sanctuary are continuing to provide the highest level of care to their resident donkeys during this most difficult of times.

Ottery Community Volunteers has launched a bid to raise money to help fund its covid-19 epidemic relief effort.

Since the group was formed just three weeks ago, it's providing a range of support for people who are isolated in their homes, as well as helping to connect the town's residents with the business community's services, in particular the food suppliers, many of whom are now providing takeaways.

The Donkey Sanctuary has donated 3,000 packs of small chocolate Easter Eggs to the Sid Valley Food Bank in Sidmouth.

The donated eggs will now be given to patients and staff at Sidmouth Hospital, local families who are supported by the Food Bank and key workers throughout the community.

A community kitchen based at the rugby club in Honiton is said to be 'overwhelmed' by the generosity of people and businesses, after receiving a delivery from Waitrose Sidmouth yesterday (April 8).

The upmarket supermarket chain are the latest to donate a substantial quantity of produce, which will be cooked-up by Cathy McCollum and her team at The Random Kitchen.

East Devon District Council has set out how bin collections will be managed over the Easter Bank Holiday in Sidmouth.

Nub News contacted EDDC today to find out more about when residents' bins will be collected.

Holidaymakers are being told to stay away from Sidmouth and the wider East Devon area as the county council calls for 'much tougher penalties' for holidaymakers who break the rules.

Devon County Council has sent an all-party message to holidaymakers and second home owners - Stay away from the South West during the current crisis.

For the first time in its history Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce has conducted one of its breakfast meetings online.

Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce meets every month for a breakfast meeting at the Kingswood Devoran Hotel, but this month was a very different affair. In the light of the coronavirus pandemic, the meeting was the first in the Chamber's history to be conducted completely on-line via Zoom.

A new Coronavirus Status Checker that will help the NHS coordinate its response and build up additional data on the COVID-19 outbreak has been launched and people in Sidmouth and the wider East Devon area are being asked to contribute.

People with potential coronavirus symptoms are now being asked to complete the status checker and answer a short series of questions which will tell the NHS about their experience.

Sidmouth may have lost some of its headline social events this year but there are still some events we can, at the moment, look forward to.

Since the Coronavirus lock down came into place Sidmouth Folk Festival, Sidmouth Sea Fest and Sidmouth Literary Festival have all been cancelled.

A Sidmouth youngster has recreated London's Nightingale Hospital in Lego and he really wants Boris Johnson to see it, in the hopes it cheers up our ailing Prime Minster.

Sidmouth Primary School student Freddie Taylor, 5, is hoping to cheer up the, currently unwell, Prime Minister with his interpretation of the temporary hospital set up to help the NHS cope with the influx of cororavirus patients in the country's capital.