FREE lunches have been provided to NHS vaccination staff based at Forth Valley College's Stirling Campus.

Vaccination centre staff have been able to tuck into complimentary lunches at the college's Gallery training restaurant after it re-opened to the public this month for the first time since March.

At least around a dozen staff regularly made use of the offer, sampling students' culinary efforts for free for a full week.

The college, all three campuses of which are being used as vaccination centres, wanted to show appreciation for the outstanding efforts of NHS staff throughout the pandemic.

Craig Anderson, business development manager at the college, said: "As we are all aware the NHS have been the backbone of United Kingdom's recovery from the pandemic and this is our way of saying thanks.

"As we continue to recover from the pandemic our top priority is to provide our returning students with the necessary opportunities that will allow them to fulfil the practical elements of their qualification.

"The NHS using the Gallery during this week allowed us to do that in a safe and controlled manner."

The Gallery plans to re-open fully in August this year.

Jillian Taylor, operational lead for NHS Forth Valley's Covid-19 vaccination programme, added: "This was a lovely gesture which was much appreciated by local vaccination staff.

"Forth Valley College has been instrumental in the ongoing delivery of our Covid-19 vaccination programme by allowing us to use fantastic modern facilities in the three college campuses as local vaccination hubs and we really appreciate everything they have and continue to do to support this important work."