The Bank of England has said that the UK is facing its longest recession since records began and the cost-of-living crisis is already biting. For communities barely managing to keep their heads above water since Covid, this could be a crisis too far.

We are likely to see even more businesses going to the wall or withdrawing from communities just when they need them the most. But there is one type of business that has been stepping in and picking up the pieces in those same places.