A NORTH Yorkshire-based glamping company has risen to the challenge of keeping essential food supplies moving during the COVID-19 crisis.

Wigwam Holidays Sedgewell Barn includes six luxury glamping cabins with private hot tubs and a rustic wedding barn venue located on a picturesque farm near the village of Ainderby Steeple, Northallerton.

When the national lockdown situation necessitated the temporary closure of the site, co-owners Catherine and Stuart Tweddle redeployed a key member of their team into a frontline role.

Sister company Tweddle Transport required additional drivers for their wagon business to help keep essential food-related goods moving across the agricultural network.

Kayleigh Easton, operations manager at the glamping site, swapped her role of keeping the cabins spotlessly clean and welcoming guests for one behind the wheel of an articulated truck.

Kayleigh said: “I have my HGV Class 1 Licence which means I can drive articulated wagons.

“As well as helping run the glamping site and wedding venue, I have also done some relief wagon driving, so my skills are up-to-date.”

Catherine said: “As the glamping site is temporarily without guests due to the lockdown, we were keen to see how we could help our region in its time of need.

“We decided to bring one of our older wagons out of retirement, so it was ready for action.”

Under strict central government guidelines, Kayleigh along with her brother George, who also drives for Tweddle Transport, are now classed as Key Workers.

Their driving skills are a family trait as both father and grandfather are also experienced wagon drivers.

Stuart said: “Kayleigh has been with us for about a year and little did we know what was around the corner.

“As the COVID-19 Crisis escalates, Kayleigh is delivering potatoes for a York-based merchant and packer to supermarket depots and has also been collecting seed potatoes from the Yorkshire Wolds, delivering to farms in Yorkshire ready for their planting season.

“This work is crucial as it helps keep food on supermarket shelves and supplies farmers with essential seed for producing the next crop of potatoes later in the growing season.”

Catherine said: “We are very proud of Kayleigh and of course her role as operations manager of Wigwam Holidays Sedgewell Barn.

“Our glamping site and wedding venue will be up and running again in the future.

“ For the time being, we’re doing what we can to support the local and regional food supply chain.”