The emergency services in the UK are under unprecedented pressure to keep the country safe and moving amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past few weeks, many people and organisations have been paying tribute to those working in the services, offering a free cup of coffee or giving staff unlimited use of a rail network, as a way of thanking them.

In Wales, transport officials announced that all NHS staff are able to travel on the country's rail services for free as a thank you to the service for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Rutland, a BP petrol station allowed a fire engine from Leicester to drive away with a full tank of petrol for free. Staff posed for a picture on Facebook, encouraging people to stand together during the coronavirus crisis.

Across the North East, a number of car parks owned by the Metro service have opened their gates for free exclusively for NHS staff so they can park without having to worry about fees, and in Essex and Hertfordshire, Trusty Buses is offering free travel on its network to NHS staff.


Despite closing all their stores, Costa Coffee has pledged to give NHS staff free cans of coffee, while remaining open in hospitals.

Starbucks is also offering NHS staff and other emergency services free filter coffees.

Independent shops are also handing out free hot drinks in other parts of the country, in an effort to keep NHS staff fuelled.

Image: Costa Coffee is giving out free coffee to NHS workers. Pic: Costa Coffee

Image: Starbucks is also offering free drinks to emergency staff. Pic: Starbucks

Locally, Weston NHS trust in Somerset received hundreds of boxes of biscuits and chocolates to hand out to healthcare staff, after an event in a local college was cancelled.

Student Unions have also given away food to emergency service workers, after universities began closing last week. Nottingham Trent Students' Union took boxes of food from its restaurants and coffee shops to the local hospital as well as nursing homes.

In light of the SU closing today, we visited City Hospital, The Queens Medical Centre, Emmanual House and Himmah Food Aid with food donations to show our support for the local community and those in the NHS working long hours due to the Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/HtfsvU5B1X — Nottingham Trent SU (@Trentstudents) March 20, 2020

In Devon, a local Tesco waived the item limits that have been placed on products in supermarkets for doctors stocking up their fridge, as well as throwing in free tea and coffee for the cupboards.

A family in Coventry has donated food to the University Hospital in the city, including takeaway pizzas, which was distributed to staff inside by a local charity.

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In the West Midlands, as an ambulance crew returned from a trip to Asda, they found Easter eggs on their windscreen from random members of the public.

Another random act of kindness, this time at Asda in Telford yesterday. Stephen and his crew mate returned from an incident to find these two Easter eggs on the windscreen #ThankYou #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/fCXN8tn1cG — West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS FT (@OFFICIALWMAS) March 22, 2020

Lottie, a nine-year-old, has offered her skills as a poet to pay tribute to NHS workers, by writing about her mother, who works for the service, in which she says: "Thank you for helping the NHS".