Coronavirus: Protective visors made by Whitehaven teachers

The school has already begun delivering the visors to local care teams

Hundreds of protective visors are being made for medics dealing with the coronavirus crisis by teachers at a school in Cumbria.

Staff at St Benedict's High School, in Whitehaven, have been manufacturing them in their design technology unit.

Several have already been supplied to the maternity ward at the town's West Cumberland Hospital.

Head teacher Emma Jackson said they were motivated by a local GP who was "desperate" for protective equipment.

"One of my colleagues had seen... that a school in Peterborough had made a small number of visors for their local hospital.

"She contacted our design technology department to ask if we could do something similar because she'd spoken to a GP who was desperate for personal protective equipment.

"We knew we could do it and wanted to help."

Mrs Jackson described handing over an initial 10 visors to the maternity unit as "lovely".

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A number of others have been given to care homes and the Cumbria Health on Call team. The school is aiming to produce 400 in its first batch, with further materials already ordered.

"We're right in the heart of the community," said Mrs Jackson.

"It feels right to do it. It's obviously an alien situation... but we'd like to do whatever we can. We'll keep going while the need is there."