Sutton shopping centre wants to highlight the unsung heroes of coronavirus

A handful of stores remain open at the centre during the lockdown, all of which provide essential supplies, while all non-essential stores are closed and will remain so until further notice.The team at Idlewells has been monitoring the situation on a daily basis to ensure the continued health and safety of its customers and Chloe O’Donnell, centre manager, is grateful to everyone for their collective cooperation.She said: “I must extend my sincere thanks to all of our customers at this very tough time.

“Everyone has been adhering to the social distancing measures superbly well when visiting the centre.”“No-one could have anticipated the situation we now find ourselves in, so to know that the people of Sutton-in-Ashfield are taking this so seriously means a lot to myself and the team here at Idlewells,”“It’s also important to recognise the tremendous efforts of the staff - including those employed by the centre and those manning essential shops that have remained open.”

Idlewells is now reaching out to the local community on social media during the coronavirus lockdown to encourage people to share positive stories with each other and stay connected despite the physical distance placed between them.Chloe continued: “It’s easy for people to feel isolated right now and swamped with the negative headlines we’re seeing on a daily basis.

“So, with such a strong community around us, we want to find a way to bring people together in order to make them feel part of something positive.

“We’re asking the local community to share its lockdown stories with us on Facebook either by posting on our page or by tagging us in their messages.

“We would especially love to hear from any unsung heroes, frontline workers or NHS staff who have happy and encouraging stories to tell.

“We will be sharing the best ones with our followers over the coming weeks.”