Royton-born Wendy's lockdown life in paradise

So, what is life really like for Brits living abroad facing different challenges under lockdown?

Royton-born Wendy Muldowney, a mother of two and a fluent Spanish speaker, has lived in Los Gigantes, a pretty village in south west Tenerife and a haven for UK holidaymakers, for more than 20 years.

She said: “We have gone from having the freedom to drive where we wanted: to the beach, the bars, restaurants and visit friends and family, to having a complete lockdown.

“We have to stay home with whoever we live with and only one person can leave to go to the supermarket, chemist, medical centre or bank.

"Everything else is closed.

“No bars or restaurants are open. You can’t visit friends, neighbours or even family.

“How would we know if they have this invisible killer virus or how would we know that we didn’t have it?

"Would we give this virus to someone we loved?

"There was no way I wanted to get this or give it to anyone, so we all have to abide by the lockdown rules.”

She went on: “We aren’t allowed out for a walk round the village or up in the mountains or the beach as everything is closed.

"If we are found to be out of our houses without due cause, then we can get fined from 600€ to 30,000€.

“Even when we do go to the supermarket, we have to make sure we have the till receipts with us to show police when we get stopped.

"Some people were driving round with shopping bags in their cars just to see what was happening in the surrounding villages.

“When stopped by the authorities, they couldn’t provide receipts so they were fined.

"We can’t go to a supermarket on the other side of the island just because they sell English products, we have to use the supermarkets close to home. 

“I have two small dogs that obviously need to go out for walks, but we are only allowed to be 200m from our houses.

"We can’t do long walks, it’s a case of once your pet has done what it needs to do we have to come back home . 

"In a way it’s like being in a prison I suppose, but we are here to try and save our lives as well those of our friends and family so we stay in.

“I am lucky enough to live in a street of various nationalities and all are friendly people.

"We have all been placed into the same boat, so we could either sink or swim . 

“A WhatsApp group was set up and we decided we would go out on our balcony every night at 7pm to clap and say thank you to the front line workers that are the only people working on the island, doing so to try and save lives and look after our security .

“These same front line workers would then come round the streets to thank us for doing as we are told and staying in.

“We have no idea how long we will have to stay like this, but one thing is for sure, there is a light at the end of this terrible nightmare tunnel.

“Only time will tell, but we live and hope that all will return to normal soon."

Local security forces and volunteers are issuing free facemasks to the public.

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