A cleaning and workplace design specialist has been putting its skills to use in the fight against coronavirus.

The ECO Group of companies, which has bases in Carlisle, Mealsgate, Creca and Dumfries, includes divisions offering a dry ice cleaning service and workplace design.

It has set up a rapid response operation to help battle the virus.

The firm has already helped a factory, which is manufacturing material for visors for the NHS, to continue production by supplying anti-virus sanitiser and an on-call emergency sanitising team.

Managing director Eddie Black said it had the ability to set up field hospitals and other emergency buildings and has large volumes of medically-approved beds to hand for patients.

It is also rolling out rapid response testing methods, which include containment and testing pods, which can be used at entrances to hospitals, surgeries and other essential buildings.

The firm is also donating a consignment of visors and hand sanitisers to a care home.

Eddie said: “The Government has requested companies like ours to come up with rapid solutions at this time of national emergency.

“That is exactly what we have done. We have responded rapidly as a team and as a business to put our skills towards helping others. We are committed to helping the Government tackle the coronavirus outbreak to the best of our abilities."

Eddie said its "testing pods" would work by gathering people in a compound and assessing their health before they entered a building or other area.

People who were suspected of being ill could be tested in the pod.

If they tested positive they would be moved to an isolation pod. The testing pod and compound would then be temporarily closed, fumigated, cleaned and reopened.