Three sister weeklies have joined forces with a county council in a bid to get readers shopping locally and safely.

The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald, Wiltshire Times and the Salisbury Journal have joined forces with Wiltshire Council for the Stay Safe & Shop Local campaign.

Over the next 13 weeks, the campaign will help raise awareness of safety measures in place in Wiltshire in order for people to shop in safety.

The partnership is being funded through the Reopening the High Streets Safely Fund, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Gazette & Herald ant Times editor Pete Gavan, pictured, said: “We see this partnership as the natural extension of our own Backing Business and Shop Local campaign, helping our clients by spreading the word that shopping is back and safe, and that Shop Local is the watchword, and reassuring our readers that now is the time to come out of their homes, making sure they keep themselves Covid-safe, and how to do that.”

Philip Whitehead, leader of Wiltshire Council, added: “We are delighted to partner with Newsquest to deliver this exciting Stay Safe & Shop Local campaign.

“It is now more important than ever that we support our local shops to protect Wiltshire businesses and safeguard jobs and this campaign will help reassure and give confidence to our residents that they can do that.

“By partnering with Newsquest we can share various safety messages widely across their local print-based newspapers and magazines and their web and social media digital channels to reach more residents and businesses.

“We recognise that people will return to the high street at different times and not all businesses will reopen immediately, which is why our campaign runs for the next few months.

“We are all in this together and it is only by supporting each other that our Wiltshire businesses and local economy can meet the challenges currently being faced.”