A key worker has launched a fundraising page to help purchase materials to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospital staff.

Chris Shepherd, 38, from Watford is a radiographer for the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre in Mount Vernon Hospital.

Mr Shepherd said he started making plastic visors using a 3D printer at home for his colleague's wife, a nurse at a nearby hospital who needed PPE.

He said: "I originally made the first batch for them, my workplace then expressed an interest. After that some friends and neighbours of mine that also work in various NHS sites also asked if I could help. It all expanded from there."

Mr Shepherd, who is still working full time, said it takes around three hours to make a batch of visors and was at first funding it out of his own pocket.

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Batches of plastic visors Mr Shepherd has produced. Credit: Chris Shepherd

His printer eventually was "destroyed" as he had to increase the amount of equipment he was making to keep up with demand. He then invested his money to get an updated machine.

Due to the growth in people needing PPE, Mr Shepherd set up a fundraising page to ask people in the community for donations to help him buy material. He has currently raised more than £2000.

He has so far made face visors for 12 healthcare sites and has a lot of positive feedback as a result. Watford Mayor Peter Taylor also highlighted the project online.

He wrote: "So many individuals in our town are going above and beyond to support one another during the crisis.

"One of these people is Chris Shepherd. Chris works during the day in a cancer care unit as a radiographer, helping provide excellent care to those in need.

"In the evenings, he makes PPE for people working on the front line in our town and the surrounding area, donating hundreds of masks to hospitals and other care institutions. Thanks Chris for everything you are doing for our town in this crisis."

To donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/