WEST MIDLANDS Police has thanked an army of sewers who have made 5,000 kit bags for frontline officers during the pandemic.
The handmade bags are used by officers on the beat to safely carry home their kit after a shift and help prevent any cross-contamination.
The creations were by volunteers at Blue Line Stitchers, which was set up by Jo Spear from the custody suite at Perry Barr, and For the Love of Scrubs, known as ’sewing angels’
They have handed more than 5,000 to frontline officers and staff in the custody and response departments as well as in the forensics and traffic units and across our neighbourhood teams since last spring.
But it’s not just officers who they’ve been helping – the volunteers have also stitched around 16,000 washbags, scrubs and facemasks for hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries and other frontline organisations across the West Midlands.
Detention escort officer Jo Spears said: “The time and effort that everyone has put in is just amazing.
“From the people who have donated the fabric, to the sewers stitching the bags, everyone who’s got involved really does epitomise what community spirit is all about.”
Chanel Morrison-Jolley is the co-ordinator for the Birmingham group, which has about 1,000 volunteers – ranging from their oldest sewer who is 97, to children of five and six who are helping parents fold and pack the finished items.
Chanel said: “It’s been an honour to help. Not only have we been supporting the police and all the other key workers but it’s been great for so many of the volunteers to be able to do something positive from the safety of their own homes.”
