A PENSIONER in a rural village has mustered a 200-strong battalion of volunteers to keep check on vulnerable people living in lockdown.

Hurstpierpoint resident Prue Heron, 73, started rallying her troops soon after the NHS instructed over-seventies and those at high risk from coronavirus to remain in isolation indoors.

Prue’s team rapidly set about distributing food, medicine and supplies to people cooped up in their homes.

Now, her small army of “road reps”, “area co-ordinators” and group shoppers are hurrying about the village, making sure everyone stays safe.

Many of the volunteers sport bright yellow “Hurst Covid-19 neighbour” badges, as well as protective masks and gloves.

Prue said: “We might get an old lady stuck at number 98 who needs a prescription.

“The local chemist is absolutely on its knees at the moment, so a volunteer’s job is to get medicine on behalf of a bunch of residents.

“They go out and get bags of shopping for them as well.

“Their huge yellow badges let people know they’re volunteers shopping for lots of people.

“They wear them because volunteers were filling their trolleys with food for others and getting horrible looks from people in the supermarket — now, we’re asking everyone to give them a big smile instead.

“The volunteers have been fan-blooming-tastic,” Prue said.

In a village with only a few thousand residents, the 200-strong outfit is a force to be reckoned with.

Prue said she and a small coterie of organisers met online and assembled the big-hearted band “in about a week”.

“We mobilised really quickly. It began with us thinking we need to cover this village fast and assembling the most wonderful people to co-ordinate the effort.

“We managed to make sure every neighbour got a note through their door with a volunteer’s name on it, so there’s support for everybody.

“We’ve got different tiers and units based on each road and information flows up and down so everyone’s in touch. We’ve even got a proper diagram showing the infrastructure.”

Prue said village life lends itself to a caring community response.

“The camaraderie has been absolutely fantastic,” she said. “We all know each other so we can all look out for each other.

“It’s safer for everybody, and we can make sure everyone feels reassured.”

“In a village, we can even have a page online listing every single shop to say whether they deliver and what their new opening hours are.”

There have been challenges, though. Because so many people in the village are elderly, not everyone is online. But the team stepped up to the plate.

Prue said: “We got flyers posted all round the village and we’ve organised phone-in groups for people in isolation who want to talk to somebody.

“A lot of the older people aren’t on the internet. But they’re the ones who need us most, so to get neighbours posting letters with their contact numbers to every house in the village was fantastic.”

Prue said: “We can’t do everything, but we’re doing the best we can.

“It’s better to do something than nothing.”

Prue said that in setting up the support squad, she feels as though she’s found her calling. She has always had a strong managerial streak.

“I was arranging jumble sales when I was 11 and I’ve used everything I’ve learnt from a lifetime working in HR, marketing, recruitment, sales, and IT,” she said.

“I just get to order everybody about, control them, and put everything in place.

“As my husband said, this is right up my street.

“But I love doing things like this. It’s like it just comes from inside me, and I get a really nice feeling from it.

“The volunteers have been terrific.

“All I did was sit at home and organise them. They’ve done all the work.”

l The coronavirus Sussex Crisis Fund has been set up to

help those affected by the pandemic.

The Argus’s charity and American Express have each donated £50,000 to kick-start the appeal.

Grants will usually be for up to £5,000.

To donate visit www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/sussexcrisisfund.