Many small businesses are suffering meltdown because of the coronavirus lockdown but others have faced hectic trading.

The award-winning Gundenham Dairy near Langford Budville, which delivers its products to retailers and commercial businesses across Somerset and Devon, has been taking hundreds of calls from existing and new customers.

“We certainly have not had to pour away unwanted milk,” said Liz Cottrell, daughter of John Cottrell, partner and manager of Gundenham.

“That’s because we are not tied in with a contract for a big processor. We are trying to deal with customers – and the most vulnerable – as best we can. We have hundreds in the Wellington area alone.

“We took precautions to safeguard our staff [about 25 full- and part-time] as soon as this disease hit the country. We have 12 drivers on the road.”

Wellington’s supermarkets – Asda, Waitrose and the Co-op – have all remained open, along with smaller stores with strict rules on social distancing.

Local butcher Tim Potter’s shop has stayed open and business has settled down after hectic trading after the lockdown was announced. He says trade is now split even between the shop and delveries.

But for those in meltdown, such as Willowbrook Nursery and Garden Centre near Wellington, it is a time of anxiety and frustration.

Carol Grabham, the proprietor of Willowbrook, said: “It is normally our busiest time of the year. But there’s nothing we can do about it. It is what it is. We just have to wait and see what the situation is when it is all over. At the moment I do not want to think about it.”