North Somerset Council leader Don Davies and deputy leader Mike Bell have paid tribute to people who have been helping others during the pandemic.

They said: “Thank you to everyone who is taking the NHS coronavirus advice seriously and is self-distancing or self-isolating.

“It is vital we continue to do so to ensure the spread of the virus is not so rapid and does not overwhelm our hospitals. Please stay home as much as you can.

“We want to say a huge thank you to each and every group and volunteer who has been supporting their local community during this national emergency.

“North Somerset Together, which was set up by the council, links these groups like Covid-19 community response, town and parish councils, churches and schools.

“It now includes 17 community networks with around 2,000 volunteers working across the area.

“So far, around 4,500 people have been linked to their local support groups through North Somerset Together, a brilliant effort to support those most in need of help.

“We continue to administer the government business grant schemes for the estimated 3,500 eligible businesses in North Somerset.

“So far, we have paid out more than £29million to local firms to help them through the crisis.

“We are also now actively working, with our partners across the West of England, to plan for the recovery phase and do the best that we can to help our economy get back on its feet as quickly as possible.

“Lots of council services have continued as normal during the crisis, despite the challenges. For example, we have delivered 11,400 community meals to vulnerable adults in the past month and continued to operate a full waste and recycling collection service, thanks to the hard work of our collection team.

“When we formed our partnership administration to run North Somerset one year ago, with independent, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green councillors, we did not anticipate that a health crisis unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes would be our most pressing challenge.

“We do not know how long it will last, or how much worse it will get. But the acts of human kindness, the love and community spirit we are displaying every day across North Somerset, will stay with us forever.

“Stay safe – and stay home.”