NHS Volunteer Responders have issued an urgent appeal for steward volunteers to support vaccination sites with a high demand for help.

Requests for steward volunteers have soared in recent weeks and there are now more than 2,000 shifts that need filling in sites across the country every day.

In Cheshire East, the Alderley Park Mass Vaccination Centre in Alderley Edge is one of the sites in need of help.

The north west has seen a growing need for steward volunteers and the NHS is calling for help to get local people vaccinated over the summer, particularly in those areas of most vaccination need.

Steward volunteers support with the efficient and safe movement of patients through vaccination sites, ensuring that social distancing measures are in place and identifying people who require additional support.

People interested are asked to go to nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk to sign up.

Shifts usually last up to six hours with your expenses covered. No experience or qualifications are required and a full briefing is provided on site.

Andrew Clarke, a steward volunteer from the north west, said: “I like working in a team environment, so the role came naturally to me.

"I love meeting new people, I am very sociable and one of the jobs as a steward is to help with queue management, so I will often be chatting to everyone in the queues, asking how they are, where they're from.

“It’s great to see the younger generations coming along for their jabs and it really is a buzz to see them after they've had it.

"It is a good feeling. I enjoy it a lot and I have no plans to stop volunteering even though I have recently started a new interim job role, I want to be a steward volunteer all throughout the rollout."