Frome Chamber of Commerce has decided to cancel the forthcoming Discuss & Do event at the Cheese & Grain on Tuesday 24 March.

The Chamber says it will keep events under review, but meantime has urged shoppers to support local Frome businesses, many of whom are now offering home deliveries and special offers to keep afloat.

The Chamber has welcomed the news about the extra support for businesses but added " Of course the devil is in the detail. We will be liaising over coming weeks with Frome Town council and Mendip District Council, which has already put out useful information to businesses, to see if and how we can offer more help to support local businesses. "

The Chamber has also advised members to check out the local council's site for all the help currently being offered to support business.

Mendip District Council has pulled together some summaries of the help being offered to businesses which can be found here. for the latest advisories.

The President of the Frome Chamber said: " These are strange and worrying times for business. So we would ask local people to continue to support their local businesses as much as they can within the current restrictions. If you can't visit in person check to see if they are offering a special delivery service – many of our local shops have responded magnificently to start offering this service to help people who are self-isolating.

"Alternatively order from their online shops, perhaps start gift shopping early, order takeaway or buy gift vouchers to use when the world hopefully returns to some normality. Frome has an excellent record for community minded spirit so please continue to support our great independent businesses to stay open over the long term."