A 10-YEAR-OLD from Ellesmere has picked up a new skill during lockdown to help raise funds for hand moisturiser for frontline workers.

Kian Lockwood, along with his mother Tracy Rowlands, has learnt how to sew and has used the skill to make rainbow-themed badges to sell in order to raise money for moisturiser to give to NHS staff and care workers.

So far, Kian’s badges have raised almost £50, and he has already purchased a batch of hand moisturiser which has been given to staff at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH) in Gobowen.

Tracy’s friend, Becky Higginson, works at the RJAH, so Kian wanted to deliver there first, but she says her son is looking to purchase more moisturiser for various nursing homes and hospitals.

She said: “He wanted to raise money for the NHS, so we came up with the idea of selling badges together.

“I trawled the internet and found the badges, and since getting them he’s learnt to sew and using that skill, he’s sewed the emblems onto the badges.

“He’s asking people for a minimum donation of £1, and with the money raised we then go out and purchase the hand moisturiser.

“Kian then decides where they go, so the first lot went to the RJAH – a friend of mine is a nurse on one of the wards there which turns out to be a COVID-19 ward.

“The next lot are going to a nursing home in Ellesmere, so we’ll use the money raised to purchase those next.”

With nurses and doctors having to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for the entirety of their shifts at work, Kian felt it would be nice to give them the cream to stop their hands from getting dry.

Tracy said: “Hand moisturiser was Kian’s idea, as he said the doctors and nurses will get dry hands from wearing gloves all day.

“He wants to try to help any key workers who need hand moisturiser after wearing gloves and other protective equipment.

“At the minute we’ve raised around £50, and I’d just like to say thank you very much to anyone who has bought a badge so far.

“It’s making Kian feel as though he’s doing his bit to help – he’s put in a lot of effort, and seeing the donations coming in puts a smile on his face.

“It’s given him something to do while being off school and given him something to focus on.”