North and mid Norfolk village shops “hanging on”
A van slowly making its way down the B1145. Picture: Christon Iliffe - Credit: Christon Iliffe
Village shops across the district have stayed open despite treacherous weather conditions, providing a lifeline to residents stuck in rural communities.
However some are struggling to get hold of the essentials customers need the most, such as milk and bread.
Here's a break down of how mid and north Norfolk's village shops are coping:
• Ryburgh Village Shop and Post Office
The managing director of Ryburgh's village shop has had to travel to north Norwich to collect supplies for his local community.
'We have no milk or bread left,' said Liz Jones, who is a member of staff at the store.
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'Our MD went out himself to pick it up, how much he'll be able to get back we don't know.'
Ms Jones continued: 'Our suppliers in Dereham are hoping to get out to us tomorrow which is our main delivery day, but we've had no newspapers today.'
Ms Jones added: 'Our post ladies are also getting out to us, we've got a collection happening at 3.40pm today hopefully.'
• West Runton Village shop
West Runton village shop have reported that their store is now also being used as a 'communtiy hub'.
Andrea Lakes, who owns the shop with husband Stuart said: 'We got milk today and some fresh fruit.
'People are beginning to use the shop as more of a meeting place now, they're coming in and asking how they can help and checking in on each other, which is lovely.'
Mrs Lakes added: 'We have got some post piled up as people are still posting, but we haven't had any collections.
'We're keeping it safe and just telling people it might be delayed.'
• Itteringham Village Shop
Itteringham has been largely cut off from the nearby towns thanks to the weather.
Volunteer Julia Thompson said: 'It's been a real life saver for the people because they can't get to the nearest towns to do a shop.
'Some of our more regular members of staff haven't been able to get in, so we're running on volunteers at the moment.'
She added: 'We're just about hanging on. We had a fresh produce delivery today.
'It's quite nice really, we've got people popping in for a hot drink whilst they're out and about, so we're planning on staying open a little bit longer than we were planning.'
• Weybourne Village Shop
Members of the Weybourne community are pulling together as the Storm Emma sets in, and the village shop is managing to get there
A member of staff said: 'We've had most deliveries; the essentials such as the bread, milk and eggs.
'It's been quite busy today, everyone's pulling together.'
• Walsingham Village Stores
Walshingham haven't received a newspaper delivery, however have been able to source the essentials for their community.
'We're getting the basics,' said member of staff Rosalind Jarrett.
'People in the village are quite happy,' continued Mrs Jarrett, 'But quite a few people can't get through to us.'
