THE council’s chief executive has hailed Warrington’s ‘Second World War-like spirit’ in the midst of the biggest challenge of his career.

Efforts to tackle the pandemic have been ramping up in the town over recent weeks but Steven Broomhead praised the response to the alarming situation.

He said: “In 30 years of being a chief executive, this is certainly the biggest and most complex challenge I’ve faced – and I would imagine the town has faced since the Second World War.

“The difficulty this time is we are dealing with an invisible enemy.

“There is also a Second World War-like spirit in the town about fighting and beating the virus and that gives us determination and helps in planning for recovery.”

Mr Broomhead says he is confident the town’s economy can recover from the major hit it is expected to take.

“The good thing about Warrington’s economy is it is quite spread, we’ve got a lot of service industries,” he said.

“I think certainly the retail sector, the leisure sector, which obviously includes pubs and restaurants, some of that will take a lot longer to recover and, indeed, some may never recover actually.”

Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden has told borough councillors he is grateful for the messages of support and efforts they are taking to taking to lead in their communities in the ‘very challenging times’.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Ian Marks, who was the leader of the council between 2006 and 2011, labelled the current situation as ‘utterly unprecedented’.

He said: “No one has seen anything like it before. The pandemic engulfing the world affects everyone in Warrington.

“But people here are resilient and will come through it.”

Furthermore, Cllr Marks says it is uplifting to see how people have rallied round amid the crisis.

He added: “The response to helping others has been fantastic.

“Afterwards, I hope that our experience against a common enemy will help mend society. The world will never be the same again.

“It will take years for the economy to recover and many businesses and jobs will be lost forever.

“Debenhams in administration may mean Golden Square loses its anchor store.

“Local government has been badly hit by austerity and the crisis will worsen the situation causing more pressure on services.”