Firefighters to make protective equipment in fight against coronavirus

The Fire Brigades Union said its members will also transport patients to and from the new Nightingale hospitals.

Firefighters will construct protective face shields for use on the front line after an agreement was reached between the union, fire chiefs and employers.

LATEST: Sheffield's B&Q is now open again following coronavirus closure

Firefighters, who are already driving ambulances in some parts of the country, will now start transferring both Covid-19 and non-virus patients from Nightingale hospitals.

HEALTH: How to get tested for coronavirus if you are an essential worker - everything you need to know, including the full list of testing centres

They are already delivering food and medicines to vulnerable people, and the latest agreement will also allow them to package and repackage food supplies, as well as assemble single-use face shields for NHS and care staff.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Our NHS and care staff are facing the fight of their lives, so firefighters are temporarily taking on sweeping new areas of work to help them through the crisis.

“That now includes transporting patients to and from Nightingale hospitals and assembling vital protective equipment that the Government has so far failed to provide in proper numbers.

“After a decade of damage from austerity, public services can only get through this crisis by pulling together and our members are proud to step up to help.

“This pandemic is further proof that properly resourced public services are not only the foundations on which society is built but also the first line of defence when crises like this arrive.”