Protective visors for virus-fight heroes are being made at West Nottinghamshire College during Covid-19 lockdown

The college at Kirkby in Ashfield, which has been closed to students for two months, is part of a major effort to produce a million full face protectors every month.

Printing company Prime Group began making the visors at its Blidworth site. Managing director Jon Tolley responded to a plea by his wife, an advanced critical care practitioner at a hospital in the East Midlands, who was becoming increasingly worried about PPE running “dangerously low”.

Within 24 hours the company had designed and manufactured 100 full-face wraparound visors. News of the achievement quickly spread.

Mr Tolley said: “We got bombarded with telephone calls from nurses and doctors around the country saying ‘please help us’. We realised the enormity of the problem facing the health service and very quickly converted our entire manufacturing process to making the visors.”

A contract to work with central government enabled the company to expand its operation by recruiting additional workers and operating from other sites,

Gary Martin, owner and co-founder of Mansfield company Flexible Recruitment Partnership, approached the college after being asked by Prime Group to help assemble the visors.

Gary and his sister and business partner Caroline Keeton recruited family, friends and people on the agency’s books, to produced the visors at the college campus.

Among the latest recruits to the assembly line is Caroline’s daughter Zoe, 22, a student doctor, who has moved from ‘frontline to production line’ following a stint at Walsall Manor Hospital where she was asked to volunteer her services on the Covid-19 wards during her fourth year of medical training.

Between them, the 80 workers are assembling thousands of visors each week.

Gary said: “It’s been an amazing community response.”

College principal Andrew Cropley said: “I’m delighted we are playing a part in this fantastic community effort in the fight against coronavirus.”