Volunteers - including local residents and retailers - in Market Lavington have mobilised once more to support their community. Last March, Suzanne Morrison created a Facebook group with a call-out for help ahead of a looming lockdown announcement. She took her son to a physio appointment, and expected to come back to perhaps a handful of sign-ups. She got home and made a coffee, and was shocked to see that 80 people had already got in touch to volunteer. She said: “No-one knew what was coming or how long we’d have to work for. “By the time lockdown was imposed I was shielding due to a lung condition, so my thanks goes out to the volunteers on the ground who are doing amazing things. We hit the ground running here in Market Lavington.
Dominic Muns and Betsy Following increased reports of dog thefts across Wiltshire, a petition to recognise pets as more than replaceable possessions has reached more than 116,000 signatures. Wiltshire Police have previously issued a warning urging people to keep their dogs indoors, after a gang in a 4x4 vehicle was spotted driving around the county attempting to steal much-loved pets. Since then the force has received numerous calls from the public reporting suspicious activity. Following the successful campaigning for “Finn’s Law” back in 2019, the Government passed The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill to protect service animals such as police dogs and horses. The updated legislation identified service animals as being more than just “equipment”.