A group of water workers have been using time freed up during lockdown to support vulnerable people and fellow key workers.

Northumbrian Water decided to give its employees, many of whom were unable to work full-time either from home or in a Covid-safe environment, the opportunity to volunteer and to be matched with good causes in their communities.

With more than 160 employees putting their names forward, the company was able to pair up individuals with organisations, so that they could carry out roles including delivering essential food and prescriptions, and making welfare phone calls to vulnerable, isolated people.

Sophie Carvin, Northumbrian Water's academy manager, said: "At the start of lockdown, we put measures in place to make sure that as many of our employees as possible could work, doing their normal jobs from home or out in the community, as safely as possible.

"However, it simply hasn't been possible to do this for everyone. While we also gave training to more than a hundred of those who couldn't carry out their normal role, allowing them to support other parts of the business, there was a real feeling among our people that this created an opportunity to help others in our communities, and the response was incredible.

"It's been fantastic to see people out and about, making life that little bit easier for people who really needed the extra support - even if it was something that seems so simple, such as picking up the phone and calling an isolated person. We are really proud of the work people have been doing, both in their normal roles and in supporting colleagues and customers throughout this period."