A Cottenham based firefighter has rallied his local community to donate face masks to a hospice charity. Crew Commander Roger Pake raised more than £2,000 to cover the cost of 700 N95 masks for staff at Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge.

Roger said: “I saw the plea from the charity on Facebook and felt I could help. I know people that have family members looked after by the hospice, plus my wife works there so I am fully aware of the great work they do. This is why I was very keen to do something to help.”

Roger divides his time between running his own business as an electrician and being available to respond to emergencies as an on-call firefighter from Cottenham Fire Station.

He added: “I knew I could use contacts from my business to source masks for the staff at the hospice, so decided to see if my Facebook friends wanted to get involved and donate some money to fund them. I have been truly overwhelmed by the response and the generosity of people. I had no idea that I’d receive this much support.”

Hospice Matron Carly Love added: “We are so grateful to Roger and all those who contributed to the collection and the purchase of 700 masks. This is vital equipment that the hospice currently needs to enable the excellent care that they deliver in the community to continue and ensure that the patients that still need the help of the hospice continue to receive this vital service. We were truly touched by this generous donation; it really will make a difference.”