LITRES of hand sanitiser and more than 100 face masks have helped raise much-needed funds for a charity.

Iola More and Muriel Pate helped out during the coronavirus lockdown by supplying the Humbie Hub village shop with the essential items.

Iola, a virology student at the University of Edinburgh, had quietly been making hand sanitiser in her mum’s kitchen.

That saw her wearing breathing apparatus because of the toxicity of the ethanol.

Meanwhile, Muriel told the Courier: “I trained as a sewing teacher or needlework teacher when I started out 50 years ago.

“Since then, I’ve collected lovely cotton materials, with all sorts of patterns.

“People have given me bits and I have used them between times.”

However, Muriel, who lives near Humbie, decided that she was “needing a clear-out” and transformed the material into 150 masks.

She added: “The only thing I had to buy for them was elastic, which was difficult because everybody was using it.

“Even online it was difficult because they had run out but I got some from Fabrication in Haddington and it was cheaper than the internet.”

Al Beck, Margo Hodge and Frank Kirwan, all members of Humbie, East and West Saltoun, and Bolton Community Council, came up with the idea at the beginning of April to make the masks and sanitiser as coronavirus restrictions started to be imposed.

The items were donated to the Humbie Hub for free distribution within the community.

Morag Taylor, manager of the Hub, accepted donations from anyone who wanted to make a contribution.

Those donations soon added up and a cheque for £600 was handed over to Blood Bikes Scotland by Mr Kirwan.

Blood Bikes Scotland offers a free-of-charge transport service to the NHS as a way of ‘giving something back’.

Urgent small items, such as blood and urine, are transported using motorbikes.

Steve Black, a committee member of the charity, said: “Fundraising for our charity activities in support of the NHS have been limited by Covid-19, and yet demand for our services has increased because of it.

“It is our good fortune that Humbie’s efforts to suppress the virus have resulted in this generous donation.

“We are very grateful for their efforts and for favouring Blood Bikes Scotland with this contribution.”