Preston restaurants have been making sure NHS workers on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis are well fuelled with free food deliveries.

Among those showing their generosity at this difficult time are Marino’s, The Silk Route, and Nawaab Tandoori.

The owners of Marino’s, a family-run Italian restaurant in Fulwood, decided to make deliveries to Royal Preston Hospital after closing its doors to customers.

Sheila Marino said: “The past two weeks have been a rollercoaster for everyone. At first we were making changes, adapting and implementing new procedures. We were doing deliveries, but in the end we had to accept that despite all the measures we had put in place, we could not guarantee the health of our staff or customers, and had no choice but to close.

“My friend’s daughter Lauren is now a nurse at RPH and worked for us for many years, as did other NHS staff. Last Monday, after we told everyone we were closing, I asked my husband Christian how much stock we had prepped. His answer was ‘loads’, so we just looked at each other and knew what we wanted to do.

“I contacted Lauren and arranged a time and we delivered the pasta dishes. Tuesday we had already told them we would be sending pizzas, so again Christian, Christian’s brother Vito, a friend, the kids and I went in and prepared the pizzas. In total we did 105 pasta dishes and 105 pizzas.”

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Indian restaurant The Silk Route, which is located in Strand Road, has delivered to the critical care team at Royal Preston Hospital, and to Preston Ambulance Station.

Elizabeth Malek from The Silk Route said: “As Covid-19 rapidly changes all of our lives we started to look at ways in which we could help our community.

“We all know someone who works for the NHS. We have all, at some time, been very thankful for the treatment we have received from them. Our nurses, doctors and paramedics are under incredible pressure and we would like to help in any way we can. If some food can provide sustenance and a morale boost then we are happy to help.”

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Meanwhile New Hall Lane takeaway Nawaab Tandoori made a delivery, saying they wanted to “give thanks to the NHS frontline workers for all their hard work and efforts during this great crisis we are going through right now.”

Lisa Pickup, Emergency Admissions Clerk at RPH, said: “All the staff, both clinical and clerical, are hugely grateful for the generosity of local businesses.”

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What do you think of these restaurants making deliveries to NHS staff? Let us know in the comments.