A local resident has described his experience of opening a new business in the uncertain tide of coronavirus and the issues they have faced in gaining access to government funding.

Kai Blackmore, who grew up and went to school in Penarth, opened the doors to his vegan café, Mother Nature, on the 5th of February in High Street Arcade situated in the heart of Cardiff City Centre.

It has been a longstanding dream of his and a huge amount of work has gone into setting it up and getting themselves off the ground.

It was only a month into opening their doors when coronavirus hit the UK and forced them to temporarily close to the public. It was a tough moment for the new business, but they took it in their stride and tried to focus on the positive.

Then, the government announced that they would be providing financial support for small businesses. This came as welcome news to Mr Blackmore and his team, but it was not long before they ran into issues accessing the funds.

He said: ''I just want to share the current position my business is facing and would like to let you know straight off the bat that this is not a plea for sympathy, it is simply me trying to bring awareness to a non-addressed circumstance.

''I am incredibly worried and anxious with the latest terms and conditions that come with the packages supplied by Chancellor Sunak.

''It says that the scheme is open to all UK employers; however, they must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme as of 28th February.''

''Now, for me, this is very worrying because I currently do not have a PAYROLL for my staff as I haven't been sent any documentation with my UTR (unique taxpayer reference). The Gov UK contactshave made it very hard for me to contact someone concerning my problem.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is a temporary scheme set up by the government to pay UK employers for at least three months starting from 1 March 2020. It is designed to support employers whose operations have been severely affected by the coronavirus.

However, Kai Blackmore's business does not currently fall into the eligibility criteria despite the scheme stating it is open to all UK businesses.

He said: ''I'm scared for my staff and scared for the longevity of my extremely new business which was thriving after a week of being open.

''There is no phone line to speak to anybody, all live customer service advisors are either busy or unable to help me due to my business being so new that I can't even provide them with the information needed to pass security.

''The same principle applies for being entitled to self-employed benefits and business grants to help preserve my business once this blows over.

Kai hopes to raise awareness of his situation to others and extends the information to those in a similar situation.

Mother Nature's menu and website are available here and you can follow their Facebook for updates on reopening.