Our Man in Westminster

One of the more imaginative ways of celebrating being in business for 150 years has come from Sainsbury’s, which gave employees 150 days between May and October to help a local community group or charity.

The Sainsbury’s in Bybrook decided to help the Caldecott Foundation, which runs a special needs school near Smeeth.

Last week I was able to hear about the amazing results of what has been achieved in much less than 150 years.

The Sainsbury’s staff have managed to find all the materials to build a 600-metre forest trail through the woods near the school and have found the time between

them to build it.

The formal opening will not happen until October, but the vast bulk of the work has already been done.

It means that in a few weeks a major new asset for the school, its staff and students, which will benefit them for decades to come, has appeared for free.

Caldecott say that it’s impossible to put a detailed figure on what it would have cost if they had done it commercially, but it would certainly have cost tens of thousands of pounds.

This is yet another example of the good work that goes on largely under the radar all the time.

I am always struck by the willingness of people in Ashford to take the time and effort to help others, and I see it as part of my role to bring this to the attention of a wider public, so that we can all feel better about ourselves in these difficult times.

Sainsbury’s, like other supermarket groups, has a long tradition of helping local communities where they have shops.

This is admirable and we should celebrate their efforts.

But it is part of a widely shared good habit of providing a helping hand, which is one of the permanent strengths of our society.

■ What do you think? Email kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk