Food and essentials donated by Thameslink staff to Luton and Dunstable Hospital

Staff from Govia Thameslink Railway in Luton have rallied round to support an appeal made by Luton and Dunstable University Hospital for food and personal items for staff.

The appeal was spotted on social media by Thameslink passenger host Eloise Rowan, who then quickly spread the word amongst her colleagues and coordinated donations for the hospital.

Passenger hosts, ticket gate staff, rail enforcement and revenue protection officers, all based at Luton station, were among those to help.

Eloise had eight shopping bags containing nearly 300 food and personal items to donate in just two days.

Items included toothbrushes, shower gel, sanitary products, shampoo, deodorant, as well as snacks and drinks, which she delivered to the hospital on Monday, March 30, along with a thank you card with the names of all those who had contributed.

Eloise, 30, from Dunstable, said: “I saw a post on Facebook from my local hospital and I just wanted to help.

"Within an hour of speaking to staff at Luton, I had received financial donations as well as people agreeing to bring things in.

"The response has been overwhelming. Everyone has been amazing and I am so proud to be part of an incredible railway family.”

Thameslink on board services manager Mark Smith said: “I’m so proud of what Eloise has done and all those who have made donations; it’s absolutely brilliant."

Eloise, who has worked on the railway for 12 years, is planning another hospital delivery tomorrow, Friday, April 3.

A Luton and Dunstable Hospital spokeswoman said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our local community – our staff feel valued knowing that their efforts are appreciated.

"Thank you to the Thameslink colleagues for their very kind donation.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.