COMMUNITY-minded visor-makers have been praised by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire for their ‘magnificent contribution’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ali Umpleby and Adam Fowle are part of a group of Knutsford residents who have created more than 2,100 protective visors at their homes over the past month using 3D printers.

The visors have gone to a huge range of places, including hospitals, paramedics, GP surgeries, care homes, pharmacies, district nurses, midwives, vets, a food bank, opticians, social workers, as well as hairdressers, takeaways and market traders.

Ali has also approached schools and pre-schools to see if they would like to receive some of the face shields.

Lord Lieutenant David Briggs wrote on behalf of The Queen to thank Ali and each of her team of volunteers for ‘the magnificent contribution’ they were making during the pandemic.

He said: “You should each take great pride in what you have done and in what you continue to do to enable the NHS and care workers to provide help and care to some of the most needy people in our community.”

Ali said: “The letter from the Lord Lieutenant thanking us for all the work we have done came out of the blue, and it was really nice to get thanks.

Ali, who has a 17-year-old son and nine-year-old stepdaughter, is a childminder, and said she was not going to start looking after children again from June because it was too risky.

She said: “I have gone to no income, and want to go back to work, but you can’t risk your family’s health over something this bad.

“At the moment the virus is just as prevalent as it was before, and as a childminder you can’t avoid being right next to small children.

“It’s putting the children and yourself at too much risk, and it’s also too early for the schools to start again.

“I just don’t see what the point is to send them back for four to five weeks.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve done and achieved, and people are just so thankful and grateful.

“The doctors and the nurses are so relieved to have the visors, and we are going to carry on for as long as we have the money to keep going.”