The lockdown heroes who battled through the pandemic in Lancashire

From making face visors and masks during the national shortage, sewing scrubs for NHS front line workers to fundraising for children in need across the borough, people have worked together to carry the county through the Covid-19 lockdown.

Lancashire's High Sheriff, Mrs Catherine Penny presented prestigious awards to those helping the county through the struggles of the pandemic last month.

Individuals and organisations who have gone the extra mile were awarded after being selected from hundreds of nominations.

Mrs Penny said: "As High Sheriff of Lancashire, I would normally have been travelling throughout the county, offering encouragement and support to people who are making a difference to the lives of others.

"This year I have been unable to make visits and so I asked others to nominate those who they felt deserved recognition for things they have done during the Covid-19 pandemic."

Over two hundred nominations were received from all areas of the county and for people of all ages.

Some of the initiatives were self-help or started from scratch and completely run by selfless volunteers, as others made special efforts by going well beyond the terms of their normal employment to support others.

In August, the Post celebrated some of Lancashire's lockdown heroes that continued to battle through and support communities.

One recipient, Nikki Thompson, 45, is the Charity Manager at Rock FM's Cash for Kids and has been aiding with their efforts supporting children in need for the past 10 years.

She said: "I couldn't believe it when the certificate came through the post but it was really heartwarming to think I had been nominated.

"I have always been involved in charitable work in my personal life and during lockdown, we wondered what we could do as a charity to help.

"We set up our Cash 4 Kids appeal to raise money for those most in need by supporting them with food, putting meals on their table, helping towards utility bills and buying other essential items."

The help was warmly received by families who, according to Nikki, may have always been able to support their families but had been left jobless due to the pandemic.

The UK unemployment rate has surged to its highest level in over three years as jobs were hit by the pandemic, with redundancies at their highest level since 2009.

Nikki added: "We work with a mixture of organisations who refer families in need of our help. A lot of referrals came from teachers this year who have witnessed families who are struggling and may not have been entitled to free school meals.

"Quite a lot of families have never needed to ask for helo before and have always supported their families. Suddenly, many have been left without jobs and are struggling to put food on the table.

"Hearing about how much we have changed people's lives and getting little messages makes this job worthwhile. Parents tell us that it is the first time they have been able to sleep easy knowing there is food in their cupboards."

The charity raised over £20.9 million across the UK in 2019 and supported 1,100 disadvantaged children and families across Lancashire through their work with local grassroots organisations.

Nikki also gave up her remaining spare time in lockdown talking to vulnerable and elderly people as part of the NHS check-in and chat scheme as a volunteer.

Andrew Pratt, is the chairman of the Lancashire forum of faiths. They received one of the prestigious certificates from the High Sherriff for their continued work representing different faiths and offering advice and guidance to all sectors of society.

He said: "This award is tremendous and I thank the High Sherriff of Lancashire. We are very grateful to receive it and I want to thank everybody involved for the work they have been doing during this particularly difficult time.

"We represent and have members across all of Lancashire and we have been promoting the work that different faith communities have been doing in the county during the pandemic. The majority of the food provision has come from volunteers, a lot of which came from faith groups.

"We have also been advocating for greater chaplains at hospitals because during the pandemic, it has been very difficult for them. When you are in trouble, people often turn to their faith for comfort and help so that has been a focus of ours."

Kevin Camplin is the team leader of the Bowland & Pennine Mountain Rescue Team who have continued to rescue and search for vulnerable people throughout lockdown.

He has been recognised for working tirelessly ensuring his team have continued with their training and been up to date with Covid guidelines.

During the lockdown, call outs have increased three-fold, particularly during the summer when the government urged people to get outdoors.

He said: "I was quite shocked that I got a personal certificate. We have continued with our operations throughout lockdown which has been challenging with all the restrictions which varied quite a lot at the start of the pandemic.

"We had to stop our training initially, but we found that our operation became rusty and we weren't cooperating like a team, so we brought in group bubble training to bring the team back together.

"In May and June our incident rates trebled as the word from the government was to get out and get fresh air, but this had an adverse effect on our rescue. We had ten callouts in May which is really unusual for us and we are on track for a record year because of the surge in incidents.

"Getting this award was a nice surprise and it felt good to get a thank you and pat on the pack for all our hard work. As head of operations, I have been putting in a lot of extra time at night, working up Covid guidance plans which have changed considerably and impacted the whole team. It really brought a smile to my face."

Mrs Penny added: "The response to the High Sheriff Awards has been tremendous and shows the caring spirit that exists throughout Lancashire.

"As Covid-19 is still very much with us, many continue to go that extra mile to help others. I applaud, congratulate and thank them all."

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