A FASHION student is using her skills to make vital personal protective equipment clothing for her local GPs and hospital amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Poppy Hillman-Crouch, 17, from Gosfield is a first year fashion and textiles student at West Suffolk College and is putting her skills to good use while under lockdown.

The teenager has been busy making scrubs for the Coggeshall Surgery to use at a time when they are suffering from shortages.

Poppy said: “I saw on the news that the NHS were suffering from PPE shortages and I really wanted to help and contribute.

“I joined a Facebook group called ‘For the love of scrubs’ where lots of people are getting together to make scrubs and to support one another.”

Poppy now spends at least four hours a day producing each scrub and has so far donated four to the Coggeshall Surgery, which are working with patients with Covid-19.

Three sets have also gone to NHS staff at Colchester Hospital, who said they were “eternally grateful” to Poppy for her efforts.

Poppy usually commutes to college in Bury St Edmunds but has been forced to stay at home due to the virus lockdown.

Poppy pays for the fabric herself and now has a mini production line set up at her Gosfield home.

She added: “My tutors at the college have been so supportive and it’s been so nice to be able to use the skills and knowledge they have passed on to me to contribute to such a worthwhile cause.”

College course director Emily Streatfeild said: “Poppy has been extremely proactive in using her sewing skills to produce scrubs for our NHS and key workers, and we are really proud to see one of our students supporting the local community in this amazing way during these challenging times.”