From superheroes to bagpipes and rainbow paintings, the lighter side of life under coronavirus lockdown

From dressing up as superheroes to playing the bagpipes and keeping your neighbours entertained, there have been moments of kindness and fun to get us all through the coronavirus lockdown.

Here are some of the stories raising a smile during these uncertain times:

Meet the 'Stockport Spider-Man' superhero who's been entertaining children and families during the coronavirus lockdown

Families in Stockport have sellotaped signs encouraging the spider-men to go nearby to spread the superhero charm. Credit: PA

Two men in Stockport have been delighting neighbourhoods by dressing as Spider-Man while out and about.

Jason Baird, 34, from Manchester, who runs Jason Baird’s Black Belt Academy in Stockport, said his colleague Andrew started the craze by dressing up as the beloved character on a live video call to some of their students.

The next day Andrew went around his estate in the same costume, so Mr Baird decided to help out by borrowing an outfit from one of his friends.

The pair are now going on their daily runs dressed as their alter-egos, with requests coming in droves on their Facebook group.

Jason Baird in the Stockport area dressed as Spider-Man. Credit: PA/Paul Husband Photography

"All my neighbours on the street, they’ve got teddy bears of Spider-Man in the windows, they’ve Sellotaped Spider-Man masks to lamp posts," Mr Baird said.

"It’s nice to see because it’s keeping me happy and sane as well. I went through a bit of a wobble. It’s keeping me busy and active."

Paintings of rainbows and NHS praise that are brightening up and lifting peoples' spirits during the lockdown

Rainbows, murals and tributes to NHS workers adorn walls and windows up and down the country. Credit: PA

Britons forced indoors by the coronavirus lockdown have been doing their best to lighten the mood with colourful artworks in all shapes and sizes.

Windows, walls and doors have been adorned with rainbows, messages of support for the NHS, and even Christmas lights to lift the spirits of passers-by.

Meet Malcom - the man playing the bagpipes to cheer people up

Malcom from Hawick has been playing the bagpipes for people in care homes. Credit: ITV Border

A bagpipe player from Hawick has been playing music for people in care homes and sheltered housing to keep spirits high.

He’s a taxi driver by trade but while business is light Malcolm McEwan is putting in performances and even some personal requests - all to make people smile.

Despite having to keep his distance now, Malcolm hopes his music can bring people together.

He said: "It was just seeing people trapped in and the carers and nurses their faces and clapping along and it made me feel good giving joy to other people.

"The community of Hawick has been fantastic at helping each other and if I can help a little bit to cheer people up I’m happy to do it."

Home baker creates 'toilet roll' cake during coronavirus lockdown

Kate Pritchett said her inspiration came from having toilet paper ‘on the mind a lot lately’. Credit: PA

A home baker's has been widely praised for creating a toilet paper-themed cake.

Kate Pritchett, a public servant from Sydney, Australia, created the cake as she has had toilet paper "on the mind a lot lately" amid the coronavirus outbreak.

"I’d just been thinking a lot about how we’ve come to fetishise toilet paper and have made it distressingly out of reach for many vulnerable people who can’t stockpile," she said.

Photos of the cake were posted to Twitter by Ms Pritchett’s husband Michael Harris, and they quickly reached more than 100,000 likes.

The cake, which took five hours to bake, is made of dark chocolate and a Japanese black sugar called kokuto, along with vanilla buttercream and mochi fondant.

The brilliant way this Newcastle gymnast team delivered toilet roll to a mum

Fifteen girls from the City of Newcastle Gymnastics Academy were filmed as they somersaulted and backflipped across their gardens and bedrooms, flicking a toilet roll over fences and across rooms.

They then produced the video of them all getting a needed loo roll to desperate mum-of-two Keely Dixon, 45.

"The girls are trying to remain positive during this time and keep in touch with each other via social media," said coach Sam, from Benton, North Tyneside.

"They are using online video apps to do strength and conditioning exercises online every night to help stay fit," she added.

"The girls decided to also have fun and came up with passing the toilet roll idea. We thought we would use toilet roll as lots of people have been bulk buying them and we wanted to remain positive."

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know