Portsmouth March 2020 review – When Mr Blobby tried to lift our lockdown spirits

Covid-19 finally reached our shores, and by the end of the month we were in a full-scale national lockdown.

But to suggest that coronavirus was the only big story would be to ignore the other major things that happened in Portsmouth.

Before that struck, The News reported the lovely story of how Chantelle Wyatt of Southsea had acted as a surrogate mother for her two best friends Scott and Joshua Turner-Griffiths, giving birth two months earlier.

Scott, from North End, said: ‘Chan has given us the most selfless gift in the world and it couldn’t have been anyone else.’

Meanwhile, a News investigation using a cocaine swab test found traces of the drug in baby change units and public toilet blocks in Portsmouth.

Our reporter used presumptive testing swabs to check eight facilities across the city, with all but one proving positive for the class A substance.

Baby-change units in the grubby Guildhall Square toilet block and at Canoe Lake, in Southsea, both had traces of cocaine.

Also in March, shocked mum Victoria King explained how her Buckland flat was devastated in a fire after a PlayStation erupted in flames, causing her son and grandson to flee for their lives. She said: ‘I could have been organising a funeral.’

Victoria said she was just grateful her son Carter, 20, and four-year-old grandson Parker were able to escape the flat in Estella Road after flames and toxic smoke ripped through the apartment while they slept.

The terrifying incident has left Carter ‘traumatised’ after he heroically saved his little boy before going back into the inferno to rescue beloved pet dog Buddy and the family’s cat, which suffered burnt paws.

Italian tapas restaurant Cucina Galleria in Spring Street, near Guildhall Square, closed after just four months of trading.

Re-branding from Street Balls in November last year, but subsequently received a one-star hygiene rating following its very first inspection.

Inspectors found ‘inadequate cross contamination controls’ in a chilled storage unit, an ‘inappropriate’ use of a sink, and ‘no critical controls over food handling’ had been documented.

The council did not order the restaurant to close.

The restaurant employed four members of staff, with two chefs and two front-of-house staff.

Further news then came about the annual HMS Sultan Summer Show in Gosport.

Held in the town’s naval base for many years, the show always drew huge crowds with monster trucks and children’s motorcycle display teams.

But before the pandemic had even struck, the Royal Navy announced that it will be replaced by a technology-themed event that will be held indoors instead.

In an email seen by The News, staff at HMS Sultan confirmed the show would be replaced by Sultec, a technology-driven affair described as a ‘radical change’ to the Summer Show format.

Of course, the biggest story of the month was the outbreak of coronavirus in Portsmouth, and the national lockdown that soon followed.

The first case in Portsmouth was officially announced on March 14 by Public Health England, and the first Portsmouth death followed within days.

At the time, there were 41 cases across Hampshire, making it the worst affected county at the time.

On Monday, March 23, the UK officially went into lockdown.

Travel was prohibited unless it was to get essential supplies or medical assistance, working from home was strongly encouraged and all non-essential retail was closed

By March 24, 15 people had died at the hospital after contracting coronavirus.

But despite the world coming to a standstill, news continued to flood in across the local area.

Prior to closing for good due to lockdown, Mayfield School in North End was struck with a bomb threat.

An email was sent to the school claiming that an explosive device had been placed on the school site.

In a statement, Mayfield School said that had been working with police over that weekend to respond to the threat and had made the decision to shut the school on the following Monday to allow Hampshire Constabulary to finalise their investigation of the school premises.

Meanwhile, Royal Navy warships from Portsmouth were tasked with shadowing seven Russian vessels in waters around the UK, after what the navy described as ‘unusually high’ levels of activity.

Type 23 frigates HMS Kent, HMS Sutherland, HMS Argyll and HMS Richmond joined Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey along with RFA Tideforce, RFA Tidespring and HMS Echo for the large-scale operation with support from NATO allies.

Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad news in March – as the outbreak of coronavirus actually brought out the best in people.

Neighbourhoods were filled with community spirit as people have offered support for more vulnerable members of society who might need some extra help during self-isolation.

One community-minded woman on a mission to help out as much as possible was Becki Short from Copnor, who posted a letter through the door of everyone on her street to provide some neighbourly services.

The 29-year-old encouraged any residents of Moneyfield Lane to get in touch if they needed anything collected from the shops, and has even offered to pass on extra toilet rolls.

Meanwhile, youngster Ellie Steel did a fantastic job of putting a smile on the faces of Gosport residents.

Ellie, who was 12 at the time, walked to the shops in Forton Road dressed as Mr Blobby, with people taking photos of her, laughing and honking their car horns as they drove past.

She said: ‘I had lots of cars beeping and people pointing at me, it was really funny.

‘One lady was filming me while I was at the traffic lights so I made sure I waved at her.’