"Andy Hickinbottom is a man on a mission.

The child welfare officer sets out after a round of phone calls to parents at Skegness Academy. Sometimes the phone has rung out.

Where there are vulnerable children who can't be contacted, or they are just struggling with technology, his aim is to get "eyes on" to see how they are doing. The task will take him all day. This was a tough job in normal times, but the pandemic has made it harder still.

Like many seaside towns, Skegness, on the Lincolnshire coast, has struggled economically during the pandemic. Andy's drive along the seafront, for instance, passes shuttered shops and attractions that have been switched off for too long. Lockdowns and tier restrictions have hit this hospitality-dependent town harder than most. The families of the children he is out looking for have paid the price."

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