The Shropshire town that embraced circus troupe in lockdown

While staying in Oswestry, the circus performers took on a variety of other jobs

Circus Funtasia will complete a run of shows in Oswestry this weekend - but the Shropshire town is far from a standard stop on its touring schedule.

The circus performers have a special connection to Oswestry after spending four months grounded there in 2020, when the first UK Covid lockdown was announced just after they arrived for a fortnight of shows.

"We set up the big tent, did just two shows, and that was it," Antonio Candela, a member of the troupe, told BBC Radio Shropshire.

Unable to perform and facing an uncertain future, the circus' fire-eaters and acrobats found jobs in local shops and factories to make ends meet.

Mr Candela worked in a garden centre, which was booming as people in lockdown took up home improvements, while fellow performers found jobs in meat factories and as post workers.

Some of the troupe volunteered during the lockdown and made face-masks

"I'm a fire-eater so it was quite a big change," Mr Candela said.

The circus members who found jobs then pooled their income to support the whole group, because many of the troupe hail from Brazil and Argentina and their visas only allowed them to work as performers.

The performers who could not take up jobs volunteered for local NHS services or helped to make face-masks.

"We were all out working to help put food on the table for them as well, we're such a huge family - there are 33 of us," Mr Candela said.

"There was no government funding for circuses and we all had to survive one way or another."

Antonio Candela is looking for a property to buy near the Shropshire border town

Circus Funtasia was founded 10 years ago by Tracy Jones, who was born and brought up in Oswestry. The group does a two-week stint in the town each year.

When the circus troupe members were stranded in the Shropshire town during lockdown, local residents would send them messages via social media to check in on them and ask if they needed any help, Mr Candela said.

They were also allowed to stay on the Oswestry Showground site, living in their tour caravans.

The performers say they now feel like they are coming home when they visit Oswestry

"If it wasn't for Oswestry and the community it would have been a massive struggle. We now feel part of the community family of Oswestry, it's amazing," he said.

When the circus troupe returns to the town for its annual shows, they feel a true connection to a place that took them in when they urgently needed support.

"It's like coming home," Mr Candela said.

"I love the town so much that I'm looking for a property around here."