Sewing army from East Yorkshire works round the clock to make 500 hospital scrubs

It all started following a conversation three weeks ago between the mum of an intensive care nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary, Tracey Holt-Jenkinson and ward councillor Dave Tucker - also an intensive care nurse.

An appeal went out for people willing to sew scrubs, which quickly grew as word spread and an amazing £6,000 was raised towards hospital-grade material and cotton on a JustGiving page set up by resident Carolyn Hunter.

One volunteer even embroidered tiny rows of hearts onto the outfits while others made small heart-shaped cards with comments such as "thank you and keep safe".

Motorcyclists, who distributed the material to volunteers, were given a special dispensation by East Riding Council and were classed as key workers, allowing them to zoom round the county.

Coun Tucker said: "Tracey contacted me and she'd heard there was a global shortage of scrubs. It wasn't the case that the hospital wouldn't buy them there just wasn't a supply.

"So we decided we'd step up to the plate and produce them for our doctors and nurses.

"The vast majority will go to intensive care and the others will go to doctors in clinical settings.

"As a ward councillor it makes me feel really proud that they not only raised the money but put the scrubs together.

"It's been 12 hours a day seven days a week on this. It demonstrates what can be achieved when communities work together and shows together we are stronger."

Coun Tucker said sourcing the material was the biggest challenge, because all the factories were closed down.

"But we eventually found someone in Manchester who would sell us £4,000 worth of hospital-grade material. They sent us a PDF with a sample pattern.

"Then we found somewhere in North Yorkshire who laser cut it into panels, and then we got our 'knights of the road' - volunteer motorcyclists - distributing it all over the country."

Businessman and councillor Gary McMaster donated his factory - and even went as far as donating a van.

South West Holderness councillor Sue Steel said: "It was very touching to open a pack of completed scrubs and find small heart shaped cards with comments such as 'thank you and keep safe' or hear someone say she was thinking whilst sewing of those who would be wearing the scrubs and hoping that those doctors and nurses would not come to harm.

"One volunteer even embroidered tiny rows of hearts onto the outfits. The response and effort from the public illustrates the degree of respect and concern there is for front-line staff in

this battle. I was honoured to be a part of the team."

The scrubs will be presented to the official charity of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, WISHH on Thursday by the South East Holderness SOS4NHS team.

Lee Bond, Director of Business Delivery of Hull Hospitals and WISHH charity trustee said the donations would help boost morale "as each pair donated has been lovingly made by members of our community."

He added: “We are all in this together and it’s a collective effort in us tacking the virus and supporting the Trust’s staff.

"We are incredibly grateful for the support our WISHH Charity and our hospitals have received. Thank you.”