Not content with illuminating in blue landmarks including Marble Arch, the Shard, Tower Bridge and parts of Finchingfield, a lighting company has imported tens of thousands of pieces of personal protection equipment and is giving it away free to health and care workers.

The owner of Armadillo Lighting, Dave Bide has begun supplying hospices across East Anglia.

He said: “We are all wishing to do our bit in any way we can during the corona outbreak.

“We want to contact as many care homes and hospices as possible to give them PPE for those working in these heartbreaking and uncertain times. In some small way, we want to help as best we can for those in need.

“Last week we managed to secure some UK stocks - and we have ordered, from family friends in China, fully certified and appropriate PPE for distribution. We ask for anyone with urgent need to get in touch.”

He told the Broadcast: “We want to spread the word that there’s PPE available, gifted from us, we will do our best to help where we can – there is no cost at all. This is just our small way of recognising the incredible efforts of all those fighting on the frontline alongside the NHS - again it’s a case of so many benefitting from the work of so few.”

Dave, 51, lives in Finchingfield with his wife Nicki and four children. He began Armadillo Lighting 24 years ago. He said he began to gather the PPE because his company “has the reach to do it.”

He has contacts in places including China, Italy and Canada. “These are trusted sources. Sometimes when you buy goods over the internet, it is not all you could wish for,”

The equipment Armadillo can supply includes googles, masks, gloves, shoe covers and seat covers for cars.

The reason that London landmarks can now be lit up in blue to honour the NHS is that when Dave Bide got the contract for illuminating the buildings, he says his clients wisely took his advice to use a system called RGBW. It’s a set of initials even those of us not technically minded can understand. They stand for Red, Green, Blue and White. The people managing the building can change the colour.

Now the windmill in Finchingfield have been lit up blue too as has the tower of St John The Baptist Church, which throws a haze over the pond and the iconic Finchingfield Bridge.

To contact Armadillo to ask for PPE supplies, email: david.bide@armark.com