AUDITIONS for a village crier on Exmoor on Wednesday evening (September 13) have been postponed after a surge in cases of Covid.

Villagers in Wootton Courtenay want to replace their crier of the past three years Joe Roake, who has moved to live near family in Dorset.

The auditions were due to be held in the garden of Skye’s Bar, which is part of Wootton Courtenay Villagers’ Stores, with residents invited to attend the event.

But organiser Ruth Walker said there was concern over Covid cases in the village so she had decided to postpone the event.

Ms Walker said: “A message will be sent out via village email once the situation improves and a new date can be arranged.”

With a population of 269 in the 2021 Census, Wootton Courtenay was too small to have a town crier but residents thought instead it would be nice to have a village crier for local occasions.

Applicants for the post are said to need to be able to ‘command a crowd and out shout the wind’, impress with a strong, clear voice, and ring the crier's village bell while reading announcements, Royal proclamations, and declarations

A sense of humour and a liking for dressing-up were also said to be useful attributes.

Among the known Covid cases in Wootton Courtenay is Sarah Fox, who took over the village shop with partner Mark Burgess in April of this year when Andy Giles stepped down after more than four years.

Ms Fox said she felt ‘tired and achey’ and was self-isolating and using the time to catch up on accounts.

She said Mr Burgess ‘has tested negative so far and feels fine’ and he had sanitised the shop and would continue to test daily.

Ms Fox said: “As far as the shop goes, we would obviously like to keep it open, but we completely understand if villagers feel they do not want to come in, under the circumstances.

“If necessary, we can leave newspapers outside and pass out any supplies that people would like to purchase.”

She said the shop had switched to a new milk supplier because previously it came from Alcombe News and Post Office, which closed last weekend, while she had also swapped newspaper suppliers which had caused a ‘couple of hiccups’ but should now be fine.

The Government has brought forward its autumn Covid and flu booster programme for older people following concern over a new coronavirus variant.

The Covid vaccine is being offered to anybody aged 65 years and older, who will be able to book their jabs in England from Monday (September 18) using the NHS website, the NHS app, or by calling 119.

Anybody who is eligible will be contacted directly by the NHS by letter or a text message from their GP.

Last year, boosters were offered to everybody who was aged 50 years or older.