Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) has launched a Walk and Chalk scheme in Shepton Mallet over the last week.

A community box has been placed on the play equipment fence in Collett Park, as you go through the main entrance off Park Road, and straight ahead as if you are heading for the shelter.

The box is full of jumbo chalk and has an instruction manual attached to the fence encouraging children and adults to draw trails on the paths, to make their daily exercise more fun.

Local people can then also enjoy the trails others have made or create their own. There has been a massive disruption in the physical activity behaviours of adults and children in England and SASP wanted to encourage particularly young people and families, to continue to be active in this difficult time and provide a free accessible way to help with this.

A spokesperson for SASP said: "There have already been many creative trails and it has been lovely to receive images and comments from people of how this has made their daily outings and exercise more enjoyable.

"It has been great to see many adults doing the trails too. Like with everything, we ask people to be responsible for their own personal hygiene and take the necessary precautions, therefore ensuring they wash hands after use and are two metres apart where possible.

"We have also encouraged children to take their piece of chalk home with them once used, therefore they can create more trails for others where they live."

SASP has also distributed 200 Family Walk and Chalk Packs around the county. These packs are already made up with chalk and information sheets and were donated to food banks and community organisations, to be allocated with food parcels to families most in need.

In Mendip, 10 packs were given to Shepton Salvation Army Food, 10 to Fair Frome and 10 packs have gone out to children in Street and Glastonbury, through Andy Leafe, the PFSA for both areas.

Through the one to one support provided by PFSA's in local schools, the packs have been used as icebreakers with some of the children struggling with/or unable to regulate emotions.

These can include children with anxiety, depression, stress, loss, who self-harm, from domestic violence and unsettled backgrounds.

Andy said: "Using it as an ice breaker has really got the children communicating with us and their families. It had really made the kids feel special."

Over the past six weeks, there have been differences in levels of activity between different demographic groups.

Older people, people on low incomes and people in urban areas are finding it harder to be active during the outbreak.

There has also been a dip in women's activity levels according to SASP, with fewer women than men achieving 30 minutes of activity on more than five days a week and more women than men doing no activity.

Latest figures show 40 per cent of males reported being more active than usual, and 30 per cent less active, while 31 per cent of females reported being more active than usual, and 38 per cent less active.

This data is taken from Sport England's weekly series of briefings providing a regular picture of physical activity behaviours in England.