THE CORONAVIRUS crisis is hitting Cumbria's tourism and hospitality trade hard - but one hotelier at least has used the shutdown to help key NHS workers who are battling in the front-line.

In ordinary times, the Crown Hotel in Wetheral is a bustling and classy place to stay, tucked away as it is near to the village green and a short walk from the local train station. But with social distancing now vitally necessary, the hotel's business has ground to a halt.

For their own protection, staff are staying away.

But in this challenging time, the hotel's general manager Janneman Britz, 40, has seen not disaster; he has seen an opportunity to help key NHS workers who more than anybody are risking their own health as they work at The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle to help the most seriously ill .

"I thought it made sense to reach out to the NHS to help key workers who may be at risk but who do not want to put their families at risk by going home," said Janneman, who has worked all over the world during his career as a hotelier.

"We did all we can to protect our staff, investing in masks and hand sanitisers; but we had to close down to follow the Government's guidelines. So I'm now the sole member of staff here - chief cook and bottle-washer"

"But we decided to contact the NHS because we have ten rooms in a new building and two self-catering cottages which are not part of the main hotel and we were happy to make that accommodation available for anybody working in a high-risk environment who is unable to go home.

"There's a need for people to have this accommodation."

After use, all of the rooms are deep cleaned, said Janneman.

On Mother's Day, Janneman and his colleagues found themselves with dozens of posies which had originally been bought in for guests who were due at the hotel.

Rather than waste them, he and his colleagues went into the village and, while observing strict biosecurity, they distributed the flowers to as many local mums as possible.

They even delivered flowers to one mum's front door in the village before send a picture of the delivery to the woman's family who live elsewhere and were unable to be there because of the coronavirus crisis.

Originally from South Africa, Janneman said he loves living and working in Cumbria. "It's an inspirational place," he said.

"I love living here, with this county's history, its castles, and its walks. It's been nice that we've been able to do something to help those wonderful workers in the NHS who are in the front line. For the last week, our accommodation has been pretty full of hospital and NHS workers who can't go home."