A Covid-19 response group set up in just a few days is set to become permanent organisation.

The Warminster Action Group (WAG), which has just received a grant of almost £2,400 from the Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Response Fund, has recruited 80 volunteers and completed more than 1,000 tasks for 500 different people.

Group member Simon James said the feedback from the town has been so positive the group is likely to continue long after the pandemic crisis has subsided. “The feedback from local people has been very humbling. They have said ‘this is exactly what our town needs’,” he said.

He said: “There has been a void that we’ve filled so we have every intention of being here into the future. We will morph ourselves into whatever local people need.”

The group was founded by former British Heart Foundation shop manager Annie Davis, who put out a call for volunteers. Retired police officer Mr James was one of the first to answer the call.

“We realised there was a gap in Warminster there aren’t really any existing volunteer groups and we feared there was going to be a need for volunteers,” he said.

The group was initially using Facebook to field appeals but quickly organised a call centre and handling team. It is now receiving an average of up to 150 calls a week.

There are also teams for shopping and collecting prescriptions, but the lists of tasks grew as more people reached out.

Mr James said: “Now we are doing dog walking, tending to graves, mowing lawns, collect pensions, posting letters, helping people with their phones and just calling them for a chat.

“The only task we’ve declined was when I was asked to cut a 94-year-old lady’s hair. I’m bald and I cut my own hair, which involves a number one, so I declined that.”

Volunteers have also made wellness bags for nurses and district nurses at Warminster Hospital.

Mr James said he is proud of the way the group has responded and of the work done behind the scenes to put safeguarding processes in place to protect the volunteers.

“We are very well set up now, we have taken it to a different level.

“We have induction training for new volunteers, there is a ‘check in and chat’ buddy system to safeguard our volunteers and we have processes for everything,” he said.

“I think in many respects we have become one of the beating hearts of the town.”

Mr James said the know-how gained will stand the group in good stead. There are even discussions about opening a volunteer café.

“We would like somewhere people can come and chat to a volunteer about anything because in time people will need help to re-integrate,” he said.

“The knowledge and experience we have gained from doing things these last months is really valuable.”

Mr James said the know-how gained will stand the group in good stead. There are even discussions about opening a volunteer café.

He said: “We are very proud of what we have achieved, and the Wiltshire Community Foundation has been incredibly helpful. It will not only allow us to consolidate what we have been doing but allow us to expand.”

Find the Warminster Action Group on Facebook.

To donate to the Wiltshire and Swindon Coronavirus Response Fund or to find out how to apply for a grant, visit wiltshirecf.org.uk.