Student paramedic and ‘community champion’ honoured as pandemic heroes by Northampton restaurant

A student paramedic and a supermarket worker who has been going above and beyond to help others during the coronavirus pandemic have won free curry for a year from a local restaurant.

Lauren Bray and Kaylee Dawes have been announced as the winners of Saffron’s ‘hunt for a hero’ competition, which is the restaurant’s way of honouring key workers.The pair will receive a free takeaway every month for the next year as a thank you from the Castillian Street eatery.

Lauren, who is now volunteering for the ambulance service as her university placements were stopped, has not been able to see her children since the lockdown began due to health issues in her family.

She said: “It’s been incredibly difficult. All I want to do is hold my children, but I can't. So instead, we made the best of a bad situation.

“I sit at the end of Nan’s drive, they pull up a chair and sit and eat their dinner while we chat about our day.

“People walk by looking on as if we’re mad, but this is our new normal for now, our new family dinner.

“I will go sit at the end of that drive as often as shifts allow until we get through this, holding onto the fact that every day that passes, we are one step closer to the day I can safely hold them again.

“I’m delighted to have won the competition and it’s lovely of Saffron to recognise the sacrifices that healthcare professionals are making.

“It’s been tough but gestures like this make it worthwhile.”

The other worthy winner of the competition, Kaylee, who works at Morrisons in Victoria Promenade has seen her workload go from 20 hours a week to 60.

But the mum-of-one has still found time to deliver food parcels to some of the most vulnerable members of the community, leading her to be named the supermarket’s ‘community champion’.

Kaylee, who received four nominations, said: “I can’t believe I won, I’m over the moon. I love a good curry so this is the perfect prize for me.”

Naz Islam, managing director of Saffron, added: “We wanted to celebrate all those who are putting their lives on the line to keep us safe during this outbreak.

“The dedication and commitment of these key workers has been incredible. We asked our customers to help us in our hunt for a hero and they didn’t let us down, we had dozens of nominations, with many worthy winners but Lauren and Kaylee really stood out.

“We’re looking forward to cooking for them and their friends and family throughout the next 12 months. It’s our little way of saying thank you for all they’ve done."

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