THE coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world into crisis and almost every corner of it has had to endure illness and shutdowns that have led to pain for many people and businesses

The Bradford district has not been spared and the T&A is doing its part to help.

On Friday we were part of the There With You campaign where we promised that, if we continue to stick together, we will come through this too like many ordeals before.

As part of our reporting on this unprecedented crisis, we pledged to shine a light on the heroes in this hour of need, the individuals, groups and companies that are doing their best to help others.

Now we are creating more backing by Supporting Local Businesses.

From today we are offering a FREE advert in the T&A so local independent shops and businesses can get a message out to those that may use their service on what is happening, that they are open for business or that they are closed but offering home delivery, that you can order online, view a website, order a brochure, make an appointment and so on.

Over the next eight weeks will be running pages of FREE adverts for local retailers to help them reach customers.

To get your FREE advert in your local newspaper, simply email anne.ward@localiq.co.uk with the following details: Your name, your business, your location and contact telephone number.

A member of the advertising team will get in touch to help put together the advertising message and give marketing support advice to help small business make the right choices.

At the same time, as more and more are having to social isolate, we want to ensure every small business has a website that is fit for the demands of more people using the internet and so every small business will be offered a FREE digital health check (an MOT for a website).

None of this is possible without support from the larger businesses support and to date we are thankful to Bradford University, Bradford District Council, Bradford BID, Armstrong Watson, EXA networks and Ilkley BID who have all offered financial support and we have lots more business leaders looking to help to.

Steve Lowe, Sales Director at the Telegraph & Argus/LOCALiQ, said: “We have to support our local small family and independent businesses during such uncertain times.

“Many are still trading and need to remind customers to use them, some are having to close, but have a great website where you can buy online, whatever is going on we want to give businesses a voice.”

“My team will be contacting lots of businesses to offer support, but don’t wait for us to call, we have hundreds to get around, so drop us an email. This means we don’t miss anyone and we can call you back promptly.

“Also it is great to see our friends from the larger companies in the district offering support to help us make this happen, and I thank them for their support, we really appreciate their support.”

If you want to show your support get in touch steve.lowe@localiq.co.uk

T&A Group Editor Nigel Burton said: “The coronavirius pandemic is the biggest threat the UK has faced since the Second World War.

“On Friday we pledged our commitment to support our readers through this crisis; today we do the same for the small and medium-sized businesses that are the lifeblood of our city and the wider district.

“We know businesses are facing a difficult time. The T&A is at the heart of our community and is prepared to help in any way it can.

“That’s why we will be extending our business coverage to showcase the extraordinary efforts by local traders going the extra mile to help and support their customers.

“If you are a small trader or a medium-sized business get in touch and tell us what you are doing to weather the storm.”