A box of sought after FFP3 respiratory protection masks were handed over to a paramedic by a construction boss.

Keith Bartlett whose company works on steel framed buildings and restores industrial units and farm buildings, realised that in the lockdown, he had boxes of the masks lying unused.

When he saw on Facebook that his former neighbour Clive Parnham, a paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service had put out an appeal for PPE (personal protection equipment) he contacted him and handed over the boxes.

Clive is usually based at Stansted Airport but with operations there scaled down, he has been seconded to work on combating the coronavirus crisis.

Keith said: “These are the FFP3 ((Fine Filter Particle size 3) masks that the NHS needs. You can’t get them for love nor money now. We have a supply of them because occasionally we work somewhere where there is asbestos and we have to remove it.”