Community heroes and key workers in Exmouth are being rewarded for their hard work with free ice cream thanks to an Exmouth ice cream parlour and cafe.

The owner of Antonio's ice cream parlour and cafe on The Strand, Tony Badcott, has this week delivered ice cream to some of the Exmouth community's hardest working people.

After asking for nominations Tony announced this week's winning community heroes on the cafe's Facebook page.

Tony said: "Thank you for so many nominations. I wish I could fulfil them all but it would take me till Christmas! However, this week I will be contacting these five people to deliver their Ice Cream Box.

"They will be delivered to the door rather than putting people at unnecessary risk by expecting you to come and collect which would be irresponsible."

Here are this week's winners:

(1) Ruth Hartman and her husband Mark. Ruth is a nurse at Rolle Medical Partnership and Mark is a porter at RD&E;

(2) Clare Austin at Exmouth Friends In Need - works tirelessly and selflessly for the local community before and during the pandemic;

(3) Six-year-old Xavier Worthington. He has two key worker parents, both for the NHS - one a paediatrics health care assistant at RD&E, the other a catering and domestics team leader at Langdon hospital;

(4) Helen Harris. She's undertaken to make bespoke scrubs bags for staff at RD&E so that they can safely wash their uniforms at home. She's made over 30 so far which has gone mainly to Bramble ward the children's ward;

(5) Jim Robinson. Besides his daytime job he voluntarily helps Devon Freewheelers all year round but at the moment he is supporting them with corona testing not finishing until 10.30 at night.

Tony added: "I will commit to giving away another five next week so if you have nominated someone they could be on the list next week."

Antonio's is also offering an ice cream delivery service, to find out more click here.

Tony is encouraging Exmouth residents to support the town's local businesses to ensure that those businesses are able to reopen again after the lock down is lifted. He said: "Being a seasonal business wholly dependent on making money when the sun shines if I don't make any money between Easter and September, when we normally make our money, that would mean we lose 70 per cent of our income. Which could make it very difficult to reopen.

"I think the lock down has made people recognise that local businesses and the community are very important. Once the lock down is lifted people really need to get out there and support our local businesses or they will not survive the winter.

"It has never been more important for people to shop locally."

Tony spoke about his new delivery service in article for Nub News earlier this week, read the full story here.