HERE is the first instalment of our bid to promote all the businesses in Stroud that are still trading and have adapted to meet the challenge of coronavirus.

Traders across the district have united to show the people of Stroud they are still serving the community during these difficult times.

Hundreds of people have responded to the Stroud News and Journal's appeal for our readers to keep supporting local businesses who need all the help they can get during this time of crisis.

We are asking businesses to send us a description of what they do, how they have adapted and a photo of their them, their team or their premises, via our Facebook page.

We will then share their post on our website, in the newspaper and on our Facebook page. Our aim is to feature every business that responds.

Stroud News and Journal editor Michael Purton said: “We all have to come together during this time to help each other, and that includes the independent businesses which make Stroud so special. We have to do our part to ensure that those businesses survive, for the people who run them, the people they employ, and the customers who love them.

“We must all respect the government’s guidance on preventing the further spread of coronavirus, but we can do that while still using local businesses, for example by ordering online or over the phone and having products delivered.

“Businesses which can’t operate without face-to-face contact are adapting to limit the risk, by visiting customers in their homes instead.

“The key message is that our community is behind our businesses.”

We will be highlighting more Stroud businesses, in the newspaper and online, every day over the coming days and weeks – thank you for your support.