GENEROUS ACT Coronavirus Scotland: Falkirk shop giving away virus packs with masks and hand sanitiser to pensioners in need

A SCOTS shop is delivering coronavirus “packages” to OAPs in a bid to stop the spread of the killer bug.

Day Today Express in Stenhousemuir, Falkirk, are giving away facemasks, hand gel and cleaning wipes to pensioners free-of-charge.

Elderly locals can pick up the goody bags from the store directly – and infirm pensioners are having the items delivered to their door.

The generous move is costing the business nearly £2,000, with 300 ready to be collected from the premise.

Kind-hearted shopkeeper Asiyah Javed, 34, stocked up on the goods before coronavirus reached Scotland.

 

Last Saturday, she decided along with hubby Jawad, 35, that they should help out elderly customers in need.

She said: “We have given away 500 bags.

On Saturday I was out, and I met an old woman, she was crying because she had been to the supermarket and there was no hand wash. I feel it is not fair on elderly people, some can’t get out the house.

“We are delivering 30 packages to a care home where there are 30 people living, and we’ve got another couple of hundred in the shop.

“Some people are asking for them to be delivered as they’re old, or disabled, or don’t drive. We are just trying to help people who can’t get out the house.”

Asiyah told how some shoppers had branded the act “stupid”.

She added: “Other shoppers are calling us stupid, and saying ‘why are you giving them away for free?’.

“But money is not everything, there will be the opportunity to make money in future. “I started stockpiling hand gel when I heard about coronavirus, from the cash and carry.

“People thought I was going to sell them, but I had this in my mind. “I thought ‘it’s time to give now’, not when coronavirus is here.

“You don’t want to give them out when people have already got the virus. Other shopkeepers are buying them to sell, we are buying them to give away.”

The shop delivered milk free-of-charge to struggling OAPs during the Beast from the East in 2018.

Ayisah said: “My grandparents have passed away, but we still think of them when we see all this.

“We spent a lot of time with our grandparents and we feel that if they were alive we wouldn’t want them to be struggling.

“We are trying to help the older people out, if they were young they would have got to the supermarket but some of them can’t because they are old.

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