Advertisement

NHS heroes showered with applause, fireworks and bagpipe serenades as Clap for Carers returns

REUTERS
REUTERS

People across the country have joined together for a second time to salute the healthcare heroes on the front line of the fight against coronavirus.

Residents in all corners of the UK applauded NHS and key workers from their doorsteps, windows and balconies at 8pm on Thursday as part of the Clap For Carers initiative.

Landmarks such as the Shard and Windsor Castle were also lit up in blue to pay tribute to the work of the NHS.

It comes one week after people took part in the first nationwide round of applause for those risking their lives battling the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK.

Swathes of grateful Brits took to social media to share videos and messages of support and admiration for key workers.

A Twitter video, shot from afar, showed Boris Johnson on the steps of Number 10 clapping with gusto.

"Who else is clapping here?" he asked peering around – standing alone owing to his need for self-isolation after contracting the virus.

Elsewhere in the city, London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted a "loud, proud message tonight to everyone working flat out on the frontline:"

"You are the soldiers in this war. Your hard work and dedication is saving lives every single day," he wrote.

"We couldn't be more grateful."

Meanwhile, firefighters and police officers across the city shared moving footage of their workers standing in solidarity with their NHS comrades.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick shared her "pride" in the emergency services with a Twitter video message, while London Fire Brigade wrote: "Firefighters across London are showing their appreciation for all the brilliant front line workers, the NHS and our London Ambulance Service colleagues who are working so hard for us all. ​

"Together we can beat Covid-19."

The Labour Party offered its tribute to "shop workers, nurses, delivery people, social workers, teachers, paramedics, police officers, bus and train drivers."

"​To all those working to keep services running and keep us all safe and fed, thank you​," it said.

On one street, Alastair Campbell shared moving footage of a special dedication to a beloved neighbour and nurse – complete with bagpipe serenade.

While MEP Seb Dance filmed the London skyline with a soundtrack of hoots, claps and cheers.

NHS London, meanwhile, shared its thanks to the public for their support.

Tweeting a montage of applauding staff members, it tweeted: "Huge thank you to everyone who turned out to ​clap for key workers in London this evening."

Further north, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and health secretary Jeane Freeman thanked NHS and social care workers "from the bottom of our hearts."

The pair stood together, but two metres apart, as they applauded from Holyrood in Edinburgh.

Elsewhere in Scotland, bagpipers across performed outside their homes in a mark of respect and celebration.

Finlay MacDonald, 42, of Clarkston in East Renfrewshire, took part in the Pipe Up! For The Key Workers! event.

He said: “It was great, a really special moment – all our neighbours were out in their gardens with a rousing round of applause.

“This is our way of entertaining people and showing our appreciation to key staff who are keeping us safe.”

Pipers were urged by the National Piping Centre to play Scotland The Brave in their own neighbourhoods.

Kensington Palace also marked the occasion by tweeting a voice recording from a phone call made by William and Kate.

In in, the duke can be heard thanking hospital staff for their tireless work on behalf of the royal pair and the whole of the UK.

"We’d just like to say from the two of us how proud we are of all of you and how amazingly you are all doing under extreme circumstances​," he says.

"I know all of you see this as your job and that you get on with it, but this is a different level and you are doing an incredible job.

"The whole country is proud of you so thank you for everything you’re doing and all the hours you are putting in.”