Coronavirus: Northamptonshire sisters start 'good news' letter

Two sisters have started a 'good news' newsletter to share positive stories during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bethan and Holly Botterill, from Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, began sharing stories after noticing "negative" stories dominating the news.

People from all over the world have been in touch thanking them for all the good news at such a difficult time.

"It seems to be a lot of doom and gloom so we're trying to show positive things are happening," said Holly.

Bethan, 19, said: "One of our tweets was featured in a BuzzFeed article about positive things people were doing during the pandemic.

"After that a lot of people from around the world started replying from all over the world saying 'thank you', people need this kind of thing right now."

Marketing graduate Holly, 22, said: "The reason we started it was because what's going on at the minute is negative... it seems to be doom and gloom so we're trying to show positive things are happening even if they're being overshadowed at the moment.

"I think it just kind of shows how much these things affect people mentally and how the news can affect people mentally, so it's important to know there's god news."

The newsletter which is published every weekday quickly gained more 150 subscribers and have included stories about care home residents playing games and penguins exploring an empty aquarium.

"We'll probably carry it on in someway once this is over, the mental health impact will continue in the future," said Holly.

The sisters' newsletter was highlighted by BBC Local Radio Make A Difference campaign, launched in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

It is running across all 39 BBC local radio stations in England and is aimed at connecting communities.