A SCOUT shop that barely had time to open before having to cease trading because of coronavirus was devastated by the news.

Manager of the scout shop in Wigton, Julie Bryceson, said: “It was devastating really, we were still setting things up and then we had to suddenly close.”

Lockdown was used to open up the back part of the shop to make it larger and able to accommodate more stock and customers.

Mrs Bryceson continued: “We changed the lay-out and hoped it would work - it has.”

In the first four weeks of being open the shop has taken more than £3,000, an incredible amount given the low footfall in the town.

Mrs Bryceson added: “It was incredibly hard work, donations came pouring in and we are so, so grateful to everyone who has donated items for us to sell, we’ve had everything from small furniture items, a state of the art exercise bike and electrical products to vegan milk shakes and Ostrich eggs.”

Everything is quarantined for three days and then parents and leaders help with the sorting, cleaning and ironing of the donated goods, as well as helping to man the till.

Mrs Bryceson went on to say stock was added to daily and changed regularly and, when the takings were added for the week ending July 18, the total came to more than £1,000, which was unbelievable and made all the hard work worthwhile. The scouts would like to thank all their customers, many of who have become regulars.

Mrs Bryceson is keen to stress that without a regular flow of donations the shop could not have been such a success.

She said: “I really want to thank all our wonderful customers and donors for supporting us, we hope to continue to grow in popularity and all profits from the shop will go to our scout group.”

Planning permission has been applied for to build a log cabin on land the group owns on the edge of Wigton near Brookfields, with drainage issues currently being addressed.