Citizens Advice is reminding Exmouth residents to take extra care when looking for information and advice during the Covid-19 crisis.

The organisation, which has been a fixture in East Devon for nearly 30 years, relies on a phalanx of highly trained volunteers to provide advice and guidance to its clients.

The national charity has seen visits to its website soar by over 50%, with 2.2 million people accessing it in one day alone.

With the changes and policy announcements around government support coming thick and fast, finding a trusted source of information has never been so important.

The charity is now offering enhanced telephone and online services, as face-to-face appointments were suspended in early March in accordance with WHO advice.

The organisation normally works out five offices in East Devon, including Exmouth, but now all of the advisors are working from home to continue to provide the support and guidance residents need.

CEO of the advice charity, Tim Bridger explained: "With so many people facing huge changes to their daily lives, the need for clarity and accuracy is vital.

"Schemes are being put in place to support people weather this storm, but understanding what schemes you might be eligible for, help you understand what you should or shouldn't apply for, or explain the implications of the new schemes for you and your family, is not straightforward.

"Being able to talk things over with a trained advisor and understand what needs to be done and how it can be done is a huge boon.

"We have adapted our service very rapidly as this situation has unfolded, closing offices to the public to protect both them and our team, and then supporting our staff and volunteers to advise from their homes.

"Our team have developed whole new ways of working and new ways of staying in touch with each other.

"We may be going into the unknown, but we are confident that this will allow us to keep helping the people of Exmouth during this health emergency.

"We are here – you are not alone."

Many enquiries to the charity are about employment, particularly self-employment, and helping people understand and apply for Universal Credit.

In one week in March over 900,000 people applied for the benefit, which provides financial support for a range of circumstances but which takes up to five weeks for the first payment to arrive.

The charity has also warned about the large amount of bogus and incorrect information being shared across social networks and on messaging apps.

They are urging people to seek impartial, correct advice and are signposting clients to use trusted sources such as the www.Gov.uk website, local councils, and their national website.

On their national site there is clear and up-to-the minute

guidance for people facing challenges arising out of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The charity is very keen to work with the many local support groups that are springing up in each community, and is introducing a 'fast track' referral process for people who are isolated or vulnerable.

Community groups are urged to contact the charity through their email address – [email protected] – to find out more about this.

Tim also thanked his volunteers for their tireless work and ability to adapt to the changing situation.

"As so often happens in times of crisis, you see the very best in people.

"We have always been hugely proud of our volunteers at Citizens Advice, and the hours they put in to training and keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date.

"Keeping abreast of the changes that are happening daily, whilst also adapting to new technology and new processes, is a huge ask.

"We are so grateful that we are able to continue to support our communities at this time."

Accessing the support of a trained advisor can be done in a number of ways.

There are two telephone answering services, where you can leave your details for an advisor to call you back.

These are on 01395 265 070 and 01404 42 227.

There is also a national telephone advice service on 03444 111 444, where you can wait to speak to an advisor or leave a message for one of the team to call you back.

Enquiries can be submitted through the website at www.citizensadviceeastdevon.org or via email on [email protected].

These operate alongside the existing Help to Claim phone line – 0800 144 8444 – and the Consumer Helpline - 0808 223 1133.