Coronavirus: Sophie Allport shuts shops in Stamford and Bourne and closes online store

Homewares designer Sophie Allport has closed her online store as well as her shops in Stamford and Bourne in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

The firm said teams would be working from home to "create lovely designs and new products" while the shops in High Street, Stamford, and Spalding Road, Bourne, were closed.

Brother and sister team Jem and Sophie said they had made the decision because they don't sell food or essential items.

In a statement to customers, the duo said: "We are a family-owned, family-run business and the health and wellbeing of all our staff is paramount. We do not sell food or essential items and we have therefore taken the very difficult decision to close the business temporarily and protect our customers and staff.

"We are advising all of our staff to strictly follow Government guidelines and advising all of our customers and suppliers to follow our example. We will continually be reviewing the situation and will re-open when it is safe to do so."

The customer service email would be monitored by a "skeleton staff working from home" but the firm is unable to take any telephone calls or send orders.

The statement added: "We wish everyone well, please be careful and follow Government advice. We hope our customers will continue to support us once this international crisis is all over."

Other retailers and outlets to have closed fully include McDonald's, PizzaExpress and Timpson