A care company is looking for volunteers to help if staff are affected by coronavirus.

Continuity of Care Services is based at Maidstone Studios, where the first case of Covid-19 in Kent was linked to.

Although no staff in the company were affected by the illness - with the three office members self-isolating but testing negative for infection - owner Victoria Walker says this happening so close to home made her realise she needs to speed up preparations in case the situation worsens.

Mrs Walker fears the growing number of Kent cases could mean many of her 30 staff may be off sick due to the illness in the coming months.

So she is appealing to the local community to step in and help look after for vulnerable people in the place of her care workers.

The 39-year-old said: "Since January, we've had plans in place for the virus and then after we got the first confirmation case in Kent last week, we straight away started looking at stepping up contingency plans. If the virus continues to spread, it is out of our control. We don't want anyone panicking or struggling."

Continuity of Care offers support to people aged 11 and above, who have disabilities, learning difficulties or a number of other issues.

Help would involve checking on individuals at their homes, helping them with everyday tasks and personal care.

Mrs Walker, who lives in Bearsted, said: "It's not necessarily going to be very complex care and we can pair volunteers of people who are best suited, but it means it will free up other, full-time members of staff needed in specific places. We don't want to over stretch them."

Anyone interested will need a DBS check and the appropriate training before being able to volunteer, and so should contact Mrs Walker as soon as possible.

She added: "We need to act on this now in case we have an emergency

"I'm also hoping this might also be a good way to bring communities together by helping others. We'd like to get volunteers for other care companies too, if we can."

If you'd like to help, call Victoria Walker on 01622 809881.

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