Your Hastings and Rye Observer is in shops now

This week’s paper features an update to our A Shot in the Arm campaign, urging the Government to use the country’s network of 11,000 pharmacies as front-line Covid vaccine centres.

Our local MPs have rallied behind the plan and in other related news two schools in our patch have started mass testing of pupils still able to attend during the lockdown.

There are also details in our two-page spread on the campaign on how you can sign our petition.

Residents were also evacuated from Marine Court following a fire on Wednesday morning.

The full story plus pictures is in today’s paper.

In other news, a Hastings councillor fears that scheduled roadworks from next week will ‘severely disrupt’ the vaccine roll-out in town.

And following the news that Morrisons is banning shoppers who refuse to wear face masks, readers have given their thoughts on whether all supermarkets should do the same.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.