SHIPYARD staff and a local firm are making tens of thousands of free face masks for the NHS.

The specialist face shields have been designed by aircraft engineers and are being 3D printed in Barrow.

Shipyard staff began printing the masks after hearing of a shortage of supplies at the Burnett Edgar health centre on Walney.

Masks are also being printed by Furness Plastics and BAE Systems said they expect to deliver 120,000 this month.

Furness Plastics said in an online update: “We are working alongside BAE Systems in the production of face shields.

“BAE are producing the white head band and we are laser cutting the clear face shields and putting together.

“Both companies are doing this for the NHS free of charge.”

BAE Systems’ technology director Dave Short said: “We’ve all been moved by the personal bravery of those working in the NHS who face the virus close up every day.

"So we wanted to help in any way we could.

“Our employees heard about the need for face shields, so we looked for the quickest way to get effective products to users.

“At the same time as talking to suppliers, colleagues from our technology team and our air sector joined forces to design and manufacture our first 3D printed face shield in less than 24 hours.

“We kept in constant dialogue with our NHS contacts to ensure this met their requirements and had the first shields with them in less than two days.

“We’ve already delivered the first batch of 3D printed face shields but to really make a difference, our supply chain is manufacturing a further 120,000 face shields to their own designs.

“More than 20,000 face shields are already on their way to locations around the country, with the remaining face shields set to be delivered to the NHS this month.”

Subject to government approval, and in line with industry regulations, the shipyard plans to scale up production of the 3D printed face shields to deliver around 10,000 single-use visors with a smaller number of re-usable head straps over the coming weeks.

All masks are being donated to the NHS for free and are the latest example of how BAE Systems is supporting healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company is also involved in producing much-needed ventilators for intensive care units and has teamed up with STEM Learning, the UK’s largest provider of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths education, to help youngsters as part of the lockdown restrictions.

BAE has developed a range of primary and secondary level teaching resources to help children studying from home get to grips with everything from light and colour to Newton’s First Law of Motion.

Any parents who would like to access the resources can visit www.stem.org.uk/resources/collection/4259/bae-systems for more information.