Residents thank friendly staff at Northants village Co-op for all their hard work during the pandemic

A Northamptonshire village went above and beyond to thank the staff at their local shop for all their hard work during the pandemic.

Residents from across Earls Barton helped to celebrate the commitment of the key workers at the village Co-op by writing thank you cards and decorating the front of the shop.

On Sunday (May 24), the High Street store was decked out with cards and bunting early in the morning before staff arrived, so there was a surprise waiting for them as they started their shifts.

Dave Sharp, one of the organisers for the thank you event, said: “There were more than a dozen people who turned up to help show their appreciation to the all the staff in the Co-op and for going the extra mile to look after everyone.

“Every time I go in there I am always so impressed at the way the staff are always running around and always keen to help people.

“Even though they are in fact putting themselves in the firing line of this pandemic, nothing is ever too difficult for them and they always seem to have smiles on their faces.

“They are the friendliest, most caring and nicest people you could meet and everyone in this village really appreciates what they do for us.

“The last couple of months have been hard for everyone but we all came together and maintained social distancing to show our appreciation.”

As part of the early morning display outside the Co-op shop, the village school and the two pre-schools displayed homemade posters.

A spokeswoman for one of the village’s pre-schools said: “We at Pied Piper Preschool are very grateful for our local Co-op.

“The staff are always very friendly towards our children and very helpful.

“We would be very lost without our local co-op and appreciate all that they do for us.

A teacher from The Saxon pre-school added: “The staff at the Co-op are highly appreciated by all the staff and families at Saxon and throughout the village.”

Alongside the schools, the local care home and other residents got involved in the display too.

Dave added: “We had more than 60 cards that we put up as well as bunting and balloons and even horse shoes to wish the staff good luck.

“Pride of place was given to the posters from all the children's schools in the village.

“We even had a card from the residents of the Earls Barton Grangefield care home so this really was a community event with people from all over the village contributing.

“We finished the display just before 9am and right on cue all the staff arrived together and we all gave them a huge round of applause. It was so great to see the surprises on their faces.”

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