Groves Nurseries in Bridport and Beaminster has closed its doors and has stopped taking new online orders.

A spokesman said: “We have a large store and that makes it extremely difficult to introduce social distancing measures.

“So many of our lovely customers fall into the vulnerable category that I can’t justify continuing to run a business that encourages people to mix in an uncontrolled way.

“In the run up to the lockdown and on Tuesday morning, we received an exceptionally large number of orders and became somewhat overwhelmed. On Tuesday morning we had six lines constantly ringing and it soon became apparent that it was not going to be possible to fulfil the demand required so we had to suspend taking new orders. This has created a large backlog that we have spent and will continue to spend fulfilling to the best of our ability.

“Not only do we have an unprecedented demand, but we are running with a significantly reduced staff due to the restrictions and advice given by the Government to protect everyone from the coronavirus.

“Please keep an eye on our social media pages and we will keep you updated as soon as we come up with a plan.”