Sharing the glove! Call for hand gel and gloves gets massive response

Police have been overwhelmed by the generosity of Wiltshire residents.

On Tuesday Wiltshire Police put out a plea via Twitter for any hand sanitiser and protective gloves people might have spare.

And by Wednesday they had received dozens of messages from individual people and businesses wanting to donate gel and gloves.

This included the head of Dauntsey's School, West Lavington, kindly dropping off 32 litres of gel in dispensing bags for our officers to use.

Mark Lascelle said: “We saw the appeal and just wanted to help.  
"We think the work that the police and all emergencies services do is just amazing and wish every single officer and member of staff all the very best over the next few weeks."

Other kind offers included:  

• Ramsbury Brewery, which has started making hand sanitiser instead of beer
• The Chapel Nightclub in Salisbury, which offered sanitiser as well as gloves and wipes
• Nina, who runs a number of hair salons in Wiltshire offering sanitiser

Sgt Donna West, who’s been co-ordinating the distribution of supplies, said: “The response has been amazing and it’s so heart-warming to see so many people coming forward to offer their support in what is an unprecedented time for us all.
“What’s been so touching is that all sorts of people – whether an individual, local company or shop – wanted to help us.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I want to thank everyone who has responded to our request – it means so much to every officer and staff member that you think of us like this.
“We will be in touch to co-ordinate collection or delivery.”

Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, said: "I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of people in our county. 
"We are all finding these testing times strange as we try and work out our place in all of this. 
"One thing that unites the human race is the sense of purpose, and I have seen this at work in our Force and in my personal life where people are supporting each other with offerings of things like hand gel and protective gloves right through to volunteering to support our public services.
"Thank you to everyone who is supporting our police officers and staff at this difficult time - whatever you are doing."