Ashfield businessman sending free pizzas to help nurses and doctors

Nazmi Elma, known locally as “Deniz,” runs the Amigos pizza takeaway on Outram Street, Sutton.

Everyday, for the past 15 days (as of Friday) he has been delivering ten free pizzas to the doctors and nurses at King’s Mill Hospital on the frontline of coronavirus.

The 41-year-old was prompted to help after seeing a You Tube video in which an NHS nurse was filmed in tears because she couldn’t do her food shopping after work because of the panic buying prompted by the Covid 19 crisis.

Deniz, originally from Turkey, but who has lived here for 22 years, said: “It is so, so important for us all to do something to help our fantastic NHS staff, all the doctors and nurses and the staff. They are on the front-line of coronavirus.

“What they are doing for us is amazing. I don’t want people to read this and think this is just advertising, I wanted to do something to help.

“I felt so bad for the nurse who couldn’t buy her food after working on her shift because all the people were panic buying in the supermarket. The NHS staff shouldn’t be going without at a time like this, we must help them, and make the situation a bit easier for them.

“I also read about Mansfield Town Football Club donating drinks to the nurses and that made me feel happy and proud.

“I also feel very proud and happy to help, I’ve been giving ten pizzas to the hospital every day at teatime for the last 15 days it has been pleasure to do it for them.”

The Chief Executive for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS FT, Richard Mitchell, said: “We have been blown away and truly humbled by the generosity of the local community, public, schools, supermarkets, takeaways, volunteers, businesses and everyone else who have been so kind with their donations to colleagues at Sherwood.

“It is a huge boost to morale and it keeps us going, so thank you to everyone and thank you to Amigos for the pizzas they are much appreciated.”