WHEN the Peebles Fat Face store closed its doors along with every other shop on the High Street, assistant manager Jane McGarry wasn’t home for long before going back to work.

No sooner had she hung up the 'closed' sign, Jane began a new voluntary post at a vital store directly opposite.

She explained: “We closed on the Saturday before lockdown. I saw a post for help in Boots chemist on the COVID support page on the Monday morning and was in Boots an hour later.”

Jane’s new role involves manning the door of the chemist as people queue to pick up medicines.

“I roughly do five or six hours a day, Monday to Saturday," she said.

"My main role is basically to make sure I only let two people in the shop at a time.

“The public are great and understanding. I also take repeat prescriptions so people don’t have to queue.”

Jane joked that she probably now knows the layout in Boots better than she does in Fat Face.

“I’m getting to know where things are in the shop so I can assist people," she said, adding: “It feels great to do my bit, even if it is just a cheery face or a friendly hello."

While Jane helps people by handing in prescriptions, Peebles student Annie Patterson has proved a dab hand at delivering them.

Annie is studying veterinary nursing at Edinburgh Napier University and was due to start her summer placement before the coronavirus outbreak.

She said: “At the beginning of the pandemic, I saw that the NHS was recruiting volunteers throughout the UK.

"I asked Danielle at Boots if they needed a hand delivering prescriptions. I wanted to use this time I now had available to help others.

“I have been doing this Monday to Saturday for six weeks now and it’s great because the majority of people are so grateful."