The Midcounties Co-operative joined forces with other independent co-operatives from across the UK last month to raise almost £50,000 for the NHS Charities Together campaign.

It donated £1 from every sale of festive bouquets towards appeal, generating £11,332 to the total £48,113 raised.

Chief values officer Pete Westall said: “The pandemic has been a testing time for all of us, but particularly for those in the NHS, whose efforts have been little short of heroic.

“We wanted to recognise their hard work and show our appreciation and I’m grateful to all our members and customers who helped us raise these funds.

“This is just part of our efforts throughout the pandemic and, as lockdown continues, we’ll keep on supporting our communities and the most vulnerable within them.

“Working with local volunteers, we’ve made more than 100,000 free food deliveries to people who are self-isolating and we are also collecting contributions for local food banks, both in-store and online, and I’d encourage people to keep giving if they can.”

NHS Charities Together is group of more than 250 organisations that supports the NHS, its staff, volunteers and patients.