A NEW treasure hunting initiative is aiming to help businesses rebound after the pandemic

Braintree Council says it has 100 'geocaches' to give away to local businesses.

The council is inviting businesses to claim the geocaches and hide them near to where they do business, as a way of attracting visitors and customers and boosting trade.

Geocaching is a type of treasure hunt where people search for hidden stashes of objects.

Hiders provide online clues for seekers who use global positioning system devices to find the hidden caches.

The geocaches are for customer-facing businesses, such as shops, cafes, restaurants and hairdressers.

Businesses would be expected to hide the geocaches in safe and suitable locations near their premises.

The geocaches are disguised to look like snails and slugs and must be registered on the national geocache website geocaching.com to allow individuals to hunt for them.

The initiative is open to businesses across the district.

The wider aim of the scheme is to support the growth of businesses and get people exercising and out into the fresh air.

Businesses can email ecodev@braintree.gov.uk to request a geocache.

Tom Cunningham, deputy leader at Braintree Council, said: “Geocaching is a well-known and well organised treasure hunt for people of every age and ability.

“Placing geocaches near your business is a good way of attracting customers and boosting trade and not only that, it gets people exercising and outside enjoying the environment.”

In addition to this initiative, Braintree Council says it has also boosted the look and feel of shop fronts and organised events and activities in a bid to encourage people back into town centres.