STREET exercise is bringing neighbours together and helping them beat the lockdown blues.

Inspired by the sense of community engendered by Clap for Carers on Thursday evenings, teacher Judith White now stands in the middle of her street each day leading householders in 10 minute daily exercise sessions.

Apart from occasionally going to the gym herself, Judith had never led an exercise class before, but thought “I’m up for that” when someone suggested the neighbours should join forces to keep fit and she was volunteered to lead it.

A handful of people in Warwick Road, Radcliffe, joined her for the first session at the end of their drives last week.

“Then they were like, ‘right, same time tomorrow’ and you look and go ‘argh’,” said Judith, who then rang a pal for some ideas about running her zumba class.

Now, most days, the neighbours head out of their front doors each day, rain or shine, at 11am, or 5pm on days when she is working, for Judith’s classes, with music accompaniment from her bluetooth speak balanced on a car bonnet.

“We do three tracks and I stand in the street and do my zumba moves,” said 47-year-old Judith.

Around a dozen people turn out each day and even those who don’t want to take part themselves stand in their doorways to watch.

“It’s really good. For that 10-15 minutes your street comes to life.You have a quick chat across the gardens and then it goes back to quiet again,” said Judith.

“But I love it, absolutely love it — just getting out and talking to your neighbours, which you wouldn’t normally do.”

Judith’s parents live further down the street and she has lived in her current home, with nine-year-old son Will, for the last eight years.

With busy lives, heading back and forth to work ,people don’t generally know their neighbours well, but the lockdown has resulted in new friendships in the street.

“There’s a couple of people across the road that you might just have said ‘hiya’ to depending on if you went past and that sort of thing, whereas now we’re friends on Facebook going ‘don’t be late. Get your trainers on and your water’,” said Judith.

“If there’s something good that’s come out of this bad situation it’s that we’ve all pulled together.

“It’s such a good atmosphere for those 10 minutes. I’m hoping that at the end of this we’ve all got better relationships with each other and we can have a street party.”

Judith’s friends have been so delighted with her impromptu zumba classes that they have started doing them in their own streets and she is hoping the idea will spread further.

One of the street’s favourite tracks for their zumba sessions is Justin Beiber’s Despacito, but we reckon there are plenty of lockdown-appropriate songs for them to exercise to.

How about:

Don’t Stand So Close to Me — The Police

Stay Another Day — East 17

I Want to Break Free — Queen

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life — Monty Python

Reach — S Club 7