A SOUTHAMPTON mum has handed out hundreds of face masks to the city's most vulnerable residents.

Community volunteers in Southampton have been handing out hundreds of handmade face masks to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, as part of their mission to stop the spread of the coronavirus and to protect those most at risk.

One of these volunteers, Hany Rahimi, is an active member of her community, who has handed out more than 600 face masks for free since April, after spending hours making them with a sewing machine at home.

Hany has developed her designs from plain white, to a variety of different colours, patterns and styles, including masks specially designed for children, and she has been distributing her creations every Thursday in the city's Jonas Nicholas Square.

Speaking on the face mask donations, Hany said: "It takes a lot of time to make them – I have to measure, cut, sew, and put in elastic. It’s quite tiring. But when I’m handing them out, people are so happy to receive them, and I completely forget about how tired I was feeling. I enjoy seeing their happiness, and I am grateful to be in a position to make a positive difference and help save lives.”

The Southampton mum has been fulfilling her life-saving mission with the support of West Itchen Community Trust, who pay for the sewing equipment and materials, and the St Mary’s and Kingsland Local Conversation’s community programme.

Southampton’s St Mary's, Golden Grove, Albion Towers and Kingsland areas are home to some of the city’s most ethnically diverse communities, and with national statistics revealing that people from Black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to suffer fatal outcomes from contracting Covid-19, these face masks provided by Hany could go on to save lives.