Windsor based businesses struggling to survive in the aftermath of lockdown came together on Saturday to take part in the Arch Day campaign.

The campaign is being run by the Arch Company which owns 70 railway arch sites in Windsor - and has a number of tenants in the town.

For Arch Company tenant Steven Novak, the pandemic has been a roller coaster unequalled during his time in business. As someone who previously saw a business fail, he never wanted to be in the same position again – but the risk this time was totally different.

Having built his business up over 20 years, Steven has a total of five bars and restaurants, including Cattle Grid, at Jubilee Arch in Windsor.

ALSO READ Delayed Royal Borough Plan could be unveiled next spring

Steven, 44, said: “We have Sports Days in our bars and it was during the England v Wales rugby game that it dawned on me how this pandemic could impact us. Before that I was thinking ‘this won’t happen to us.’

"When the Prime Minister said don’t go to pubs, I thought I was finished. We all thought we were insured for this and then we found out we weren’t! The first couple of days were horrific. I cried my eyes out. I was in pieces.”

He furloughed his staff, who he says were superb, and worked alone running takeaways so that he earned some income during lockdown. He successfully applied for a government loan that enabled him to continue with a refurbishment that was incomplete when lockdown began.

Steven said: “I worked my ass off. My staff were superb, we have a family spirit. They obviously knew how it affected their jobs but understood that I have put a lifetime into this."

Steve’s businesses reopened on July 4.

ALSO READ Cafe Rouge is open again in Windsor

Another business signed up to the Arch Day campaign is Lavender Green the florist, which is based on Bridgewater Way and provides displays for leading events including Royal Ascot and Wimbledon among others.

Duck Tours and the Escape Experience are other Windsor business fighting back 'underneath the arches'.