Free taxi rides to coronavirus vaccination appointments courtesy of would-be rival Northamptonshire firms

Two Northamptonshire taxi drivers have teamed up to offer free trips to coronavirus vaccination appointments to anyone of any age, anywhere.

Nick Metaxas of Holcot Cars and Freddie Fudge of Flat Cap Cabs in Brixworth will pick people up, drop them off at the clinic and take them home completely without charge.

The pair have already helped numerous patients get to their appointments across the county having started on Monday (February 1).

Nick said: "We're supposed to be fierce competitors but unfortunately we like each other - he's my right arm for local work and I'm an airport specialist.

"But with no flights there isn't a lot of airport work at the minute so we both said let's see what we can do."

A charity that wishes to remain anonymous is funding the venture, as well as receiving any tips, so Nick and Freddie can just focus on helping as many people as possible.

The duo have struck up close relationships with the vaccination centres so they can drop off patients outside and even shuffle appointments around to maximise their time.

Nick said the passengers, who have mostly been elderly people who do not have anyone else to take them to their appointments, have been very grateful for the company as much as the lift.

"I've had some fantastic conversations, one woman brought a thank you card which was lovely and I've been playing illness Top Trumps with some of them," he said.

"Only two people have beaten me so far as I've had a heart attack and a stroke - but every single person has been focused on getting vaccinated to get the world back to normal.

"They're all very sensible people who lived through the end of the war, it's been a joy to take them backwards and forwards and the banter has been brilliant."

Nick said some do not see anyone else so they relish the chance to chat to someone for the duration of the journey to and from the clinic.

One woman politely asked to go a different way home so she could spent more time out of the house and see something different for a change, he added.

Nick felt compelled to help with the vaccination drive as his own health issues makes him vulnerable to coronavirus while his daughter needed hospital treatment when she caught it.

He said the call to say she was going into Kettering General Hospital was the worst day of his life but thankfully she recovered.

"The key thing is we don't care where you live, who you are or where your appointment is - it's going to probably be in Northamptonshire so we can do it," he said.

To book a free taxi, visit holcotcars.com or call Nick on 07801 030400 or call Freddie on 07850 450159 or visit facebook.com/flatcapcabs.