A THURROCK family is bursting with pride over the efforts of teenager Josh Bateman who has made more than 1,000 face shields for NHS staff, careers and other essential workers in the front line of the coronavirus crisis.

Josh, a former student at Harris Chafford Hundred Academy, is a 17-year-old who is working as an electrical and mechanical engineering apprentice with buildings and maintenance engineering company KCE FM, based on the Isle of Dogs.

Unfortunately, because of coronavirus, Josh was put on furlough, but rather than sit about at his home on Cumberland Road, Chafford Hundred, he decided he wanted to do something to help out in the crisis.

And when mum Vicky mentioned that a friend had told her there was a shortage of face masks for health workers, Josh sprang into action.

Vicky recalls how it all started just a few weeks ago. "I got the call from a friend and mentioned it in passing to Josh. That was it. He was off. He has had a 3-D printer at home for about three years so he knows all about them, he quickly sourced a template to make the main part and then he was away. We ordered the filament (material for the printer) and acetate for the actual face shield and some elastic and he was soon making them in numbers," she says.

"Word quickly got around about what he was doing and people started asking for the masks. Then we put it on social media and there was a big demand – so much so that we decided to get him another printer. He's actually got three now!

"At first we were funding it ourselves but after it got to around £1,000 we decided to run a Gofundme page. That has been amazing and has funded what Josh has done. We are so grateful to all those who have donated. It has raised almost £5,000 and when this is all over, anything that is left will be distributed to local health charities.

Mum's never been busier

"So far Josh has made more than 1,000 masks that have been distributed far and wide. The whole family has helped with that, his dad Simon who is an IT company director, myself – a 'stay-at-home' mum who hasn't been so busy for 15 years – and his brother Harvey, 15, who has helped when he can, though he is still busy with his home on-line school work.

"The masks have gone to hospitals in London and all across Essex including Basildon and Thurrock Hospital, to people working in the care sector, to care homes who haven't had a lot of support and have had to source these things themselves, emergency workers, the air ambulance and even to a funeral director who contacted us and asked if we could supply some. That really brought home how serious this all is.

"It's been amazing. When lockdown was introduced we wondered what we were going to do to keep busy and it's exploded into this. Who would have thought it? But I just can't tell you how proud we all are of Josh, he's done something amazing."

Josh himself modestly played down his role. "I would just like to say thanks to everyone who has supported me, particularly Callum Yates, the CEO at KCE FM, and David Smith , also from KCE. And my family of course.

"I'm just happy to do my little bit. If you can do something positive I think you should though I have to say I do feel a sense of pride in what we have achieved.

"And when it's over there will be the benefit of anything left over in the Gofundme account to go to good causes and I will be donating one of the printing machines to the Harris academy too."

You can see a short clip of how the masks are made on the printer here .