We are urging you to subscribe to the magazine to support Big Issue vendors while they temporarily cannot sell the magazine on the streets – and so is Street Cat Bob.

Bob and his owner James Bowen shared our plea with his legions of Bobites online, noting that The Big Issue “helped them in a time of crisis”.

James and Bob’s remarkable tale is one of The Big Issue’s biggest success stories – with the pair going from selling the magazine to capturing the imagination of the nation with a series of bestselling books and even a feature film.

@BigIssue helped James and Bob turn their lives around in a time of crisis. Now, with vendors unable to sell on the streets, the magazine needs your support more than ever. Please help if you can. https://t.co/vQlbgKRQY4

— StreetCat Bob (@StreetCatBob) March 25, 2020

It is crucial that The Big Issue urgently receives 60,000 magazine subscribers to ensure that we can continue to support vendors throughout the coronavirus pandemic so they can flourish just like James.

For the foreseeable future, you can support us and vendors in these three ways, please give what you can:

• Subscribe for three months and have the magazine delivered right to your door, every week
• Order this week’s magazine from The Big Issue Shop or download a digital copy
• Or make a one-off financial contribution to The Big Issue

Street Cat Bob is not the only celebrity urging people to back The Big Issue. The Thick of It scribe Armando Iannucci, writer and journalist Caitlin Moran and comics ace Mark Millar have also added their voice to our appeal.