A penpal scheme between schoolchildren and isolated people has been launched. Bethany Nichol, a Member Pioneer at the Co-op in Bellingham, set up the scheme, which will see pupils at Bellingham Primary School and local isolated people write to each other. Bethany said: "I think it’s uniting the two most vulnerable groups of people, young people who are still developing and then the older people who are isolated. "It is so important that they feel connected and that they feel that someone is there to talk to them." So far 13 people have asked to join in. Care agency The Elder found one in three elderly people were more lonely when lockdown restrictions were put in place at the start of the pandemic.