A TEENAGE brother and sister are making sure neighbours in their village are still getting their beloved daily paper.

Matt and Amy Reeves, who live in Upper Heyford, near Bicester, deliver the Oxford Mail and Bicester Advertiser every day.

Matt, 16, has been doing the paper rounds for six months while his big sister, who is 19, has been doing it for almost four years.

They both say being a delivery agent is an important job in society especially during the current coronavirus crisis.

Also read: Oxfordshire’s oldest paper boy keeps delivering

Matt, who runs while he delivers the papers every morning, said: “Some people aren’t good with technology so having a newspaper delivered helps them know what’s going on in their local community and helps them stay in touch with what’s going on in the world.

“It’s a good way to get a bit of money and exercise as well.”

The pair deliver 12 newspapers - six each - on Monday through to Saturday.

Their older brother and sister used to also do the same before them.

Oxford Mail:

Miss Reeves said the majority of customers are old and rely on their local papers to stay up-to-date with news and keep spirits high.

She said: “Quite a lot of people we deliver to are older people. They can’t go out at the moment and one of them has a low immune system so it’s really important to keep morale up.

“It’s nice to be able to do it because they might not be able to get online. My granny doesn’t have wifi so she wouldn’t be able to do that and I also think that having it physically is a lot better as everything is online these days.

Also read: Barton boy delivers Oxford Mail for self-isolating residents

“People in the village can see the same thing and start conversations – when things get back to normal that is.”

Miss Reeves also works at a playgroup, meaning she is juggling two 'key worker' jobs as defined in the latest government guidance on who should keep going to work.

She said that as long as she was working safely, she should work.

She added: “We have to make sure they are safe. They were worried about the newspapers being contaminated so we eliminated that fear. It’s important that if you can help, to help.

“But there’s a fine line between not worrying enough and panicking.”

Read also: Temporary mortuary set up at Heyford RAF base

The World Health Organization has confirmed that newspapers remain safe to read during the coronavirus pandemic.

It said the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low, and therefore the risk of contracting Covid-19 through receipt of a printed paper is infinitely small.

In addition, the Government has identified news media organisations and those that work across it as a key public service.

For many isolated individuals, a newspaper is the only way to keep connected to the local community.

Do you know someone who would like to get free home delivery of the Oxford Mail every day? If so, call free on 01865 425282.