Village shops serving the rural communities in west Dorset are struggling to get essential items during the coronavirus pandemic.

Broadwindsor Community Stores has been unable to get certain items for the past few weeks from its supplier Booker, and after a recent order, a number of items, such as tinned goods, washing up liquid, antibacterial hand wash, flour, tea bags and sauces were not available.

Andrew Hookings, chairman of Broadwindsor Community Stores, said: “Our issue is Broadwindsor Community Stores is in the heart of the group parish of Broadwindsor, it is one of the - if not the largest - parishes area wise in Dorset. We stretch from Blackdown, Drimpton, Seaborough, Burstock and Broadwindsor.

“Now the little shop at Marshwood has closed, they come to us as well every day and our demographic of our community means a large number of people are self-isolation or are in the vulnerable group. They are not going out, they are heeding the Government’s warnings, but they are shopping locally with us, so we have seen an increase in our footfall.

“We’ve been noticing for the last three weeks or so that our supplies from Booker have been reducing. We had thought this might have possibly have something to do with Tesco, they’re keeping their stores fully supplied whereas Booker might not be as fortunate.”

Mr Hookings spoke to a regional director from Booker and explained the situation. He was also told that Booker had changed its policy and it is trying to get supplies to community shops before individuals with Booker cards can go in and shop.

“Booker in the main has been quite helpful,” Mr Hookings said. “Our delivery normally arrives about 9.30am but they did delay it to try and give us a bit more of what we asked for and it didn’t get her until about midday. Having said that we were still short of a lot of items.”

Broadwindsor Community Stores had a delivery earlier this week and Mr Hookings is happy to report that Booker worked hard to replace items but a range of products, such as pasta, rice, flour and yeast are still unavailable.

A spokesman for Tesco, which owns Booker, said: “We are doing everything we can to make essential products available, with deliveries to our branches daily.

“Some independent retailers have reported unprecedented demand from their customers, such as a ten-fold increase in products such as flour. Because of increased demand, we are restricting quantities on some lines such as bread, milk, anti-bacterial products, paper, dried pasta and some cleaning products to ensure more people have access to everyday essentials.

“We are working closely with suppliers to secure the stock required. To support our retailer and catering customers, they have exclusive access to our branches from opening time until 11am, before other customers.

“There is no prioritisation of larger stores over small stores - all retail customers can benefit from this exclusive access - and we are working hard with our suppliers to make more stock available for everyone.

“We are also supporting our catering customers who have faced unprecedented challenges in the past three weeks.”

Thorncombe Village Shop also has a shortage of items but have had a number of volunteers come forward to help the shop.

Anne Johnson-Rooks, chairman of Thorncombe Village Shop Management Committee, said: “In these unsettling times, it is comforting to draw attention to the kinder side of humanity.

“Thorncombe was one of the first communities to come together to form a support group to help its residents in the face of Covid-19. A group of public-spirited parishioners have been assisting residents in a number of ways, and many more volunteers have come forward to keep our shop in Chard Street running, something so necessary in a community over five miles from the nearest supermarket.

“Quite a few of our existing shop volunteers are of a certain age, some have, in accordance with Government guidelines, self-isolated and therefore training has been put in place for these new, younger volunteers who take orders for delivery or collection, man the till and work with the coronavirus support group to answer cries for help in collecting prescriptions and other items from further afield, and supporting those who are in isolation by having a friendly chat, either by phone or at a safe distance.

“Most of our shop suppliers are doing their best to fulfil our orders, although there is definitely a shortage with a number of items since the epidemic first appeared. However, we plan to continue serving our Saturday morning take away bacon baps whilst the demand remains, and of course we continue to maintain our strict hygiene and distancing rules.

“We are so grateful to have these wonderful people in our village - thank you all of you.”