Cornish clothing company Seasalt is shutting its shops around the country during the coronavirus outbreak.

The company, which was founded in Penzance and now has its head office in Falmouth, has taken the decision in a bid to quell the spread of the virus and follows government advice to avoid all social gatherings.

Seasalt Cornwall said in a statement this afternoon: "We have sadly decided to close our shops for the time being.

"We will really miss seeing our lovely customers in person but our online shop and customer services team here in Cornwall will continue to operate as normal.

"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to inspire, support and uplift you however we can.

"We will be using this space to share our love of Cornwall and celebrate our community with stories that will hopefully brighten your day.

"We have been overwhelmed by your support, thank you. Keep in touch."

Fellow clothing store Joules, which also has a shop in Falmouth, as well as Truro and St Ives, has taken the same decision.

In an announcement today it said: "To support and protect our Joules family, customers and communities we’ve made the difficult decision to close all Joules stores for a little while. ⁠

⁠"Our store teams will miss seeing your friendly faces but our online store, Joules.com will continue to operate as normal, bringing you our new spring collection to hopefully raise a small smile at this uncertain time."