A CAMPAIGN ,which began by celebrating the county’s local heroes, has now raised over £10,000.

Kendal company Herdy has managed to raise just over £13,000 with their ‘Herdy Hero’ kitchen towel, which features ‘herdified’ members of the public who were nominated for their hard work during lockdown.

“We have set ourselves a target to hit £20,000 by Christmas,” said Herdy co-founder, Diane Hannah.

“We are really determined to do that because then we can give £5,000 to each charity, that would be really amazing.

"We hope it will be a nice way to end the year and commemorate all the people who keep us safe."

Proceeds from the kitchen towel sales will go to NHS Charities Together, the Great North Air Ambulance Charity, Cumbria Community Foundation, and The Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association.

The towel's design represents many of the nominees from the company's social media campaign, which turned key workers, good Samaritans and many more into the brand's iconic sheep characters after being nominated for their good deeds.

"When we shared the design on our social media platforms the response was fantastic," said Ms Hannah.

"It celebrates everyone from shop workers to delivery drivers to police, you name it."

The campaign kept the Herdy team extremely busy during the temporary closure of their shops.

"That was one thing we felt really strongly about during lockdown was that there were an awful lot of people in really dire situations where they were cut off from friends and family, or didn't have access to outdoor space," said Ms Hannah.

"So we put all of our efforts into our social media channels to try and bring a smile to people.

"When we heard some of the stories people were telling us, it gave us this idea of creating a little Herdy character to celebrate that individual.

"And that's what started our Herdy Heroes campaign.

"It was just a really fun thing to do, it helped highlight the efforts people were going to, not just public roles but community roles."

The special edition tea towel can be bought from the company's website.