More than 1,200 people have responded to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s offer of support for vulnerable residents.

The council wrote to 76,620 households offering to support residents who are self-isolating, are over 70, have underlying health conditions and who have no other support available to them.

More than 400 council staff have been volunteering to help these vulnerable residents.

The help includes shopping, collecting prescriptions and friendly phone calls.

Volunteers have been matched with residents by geography to make sure they live as close to each other as possible to provide the support when needed.

The council has also distributed more than 50,000 “good neighbour” cards across the community for people to post to their neighbours so they can offer support.

The leader of the council, Cllr Philippa Marsden, said: “We are proud of how our staff have risen to this recent challenge.

“Resources have become stretched but despite this, the staff response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Despite the huge task of coordinating the council’s community response, we didn’t want this to stifle the fantastic community efforts that are taking place across the area.

“Thousands of residents are also doing their bit to look out for their neighbours and communities, it’s become a true Team Caerphilly effort. I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to all.”