Stay safe, stay home! Kettering shop displays vital message

A splash of colour has been added to a Kettering corner shop, encouraging people to stay at home during the coronavirus crisis.

Jay Goswami, the owner of Shop Locally on the corner of Dryden Street and Field Street, wanted to paint the message on the shutters of his convenience store.

When graffiti artist Ziemowit Smagala popped in he asked him if he had any spray cans he could use - only for the artist to offer to paint it for him.

Mr Smagala, known as Squidge, said: "It's my local shop and I went in and Jay asked me if I had any spray cans knocking about.

"He said he wanted to put 'stay safe' on his shop and I thought I'd do it for free for the people of Kettering.

"I popped in at 11am to get some electricity and by 6pm it was done."

With the help of a colleague 'Stay Safe' was sprayed on one side of the shop with 'Stay Home' on the other on Tuesday (April 7).

Mr Goswami, who has run the shop for the past four-and-a-half years, said: "I asked Squidge if he had any paint so I could do it myself and he said 'that's a good idea, let us do it'.

"It's a beautiful message.

"I have left the shutters down and I do not want to put the shutters up."

It's hoped that because it's graffiti it will also get the message across to youngsters.

Squidge, a former youth worker, said people's mental health in the lockdown is being overlooked so he wanted to inject some colour into the area.

The 34-year-old added: "It's been met with nothing but positivity."

Any other shops looking to display a similar message for a fee should contact Squidge on [email protected]