Oakham Neighbours is seeking extra people who may need help as the pandemic is expected to intensify in the coming weeks.

The group was founded by former academic Julie Coleman as an informal voluntary group aiming to put people in touch with others.

And in the past few weeks, thousands of Oakham residents have volunteered to offer their services.

Julie told Oakham Nub News: "We aim to provide practical and emotional support to anyone who's self-isolating in Oakham or Barleythorpe (those who are shielding can also turn to the GoodSam NHS volunteers).

"We've divided Oakham and Barleythorpe into 80 zones and now have neighbourhood coordinators and teams of volunteers in place for all but a handful. We're now leafleting homes to let residents know how to get in touch with us.

Julie continued: "Our volunteers are offering neighbourliness -- we can do shopping for people, or dog-walking, and we can pick up prescriptions or ring for a chat, but we aren't DBS-checked or trained and our only resource is good will. Where necessary, we're referring people on to more specialised services.

People needing help can contact the group by phoning 01572 842 079 or by emailing [email protected] for general help or [email protected] for prescription delivery (giving their name, address and pharmacy, and indicating whether it's been confirmed that the prescription is ready, whether it's a repeat prescription and whether it's free or pre-paid -- unfortunately it can't deliver prescriptions on which payment is due).

Julie added anyone needing help or wanting to volunteer can find out more by visiting the Oakham Neighbours facebook page .