Fighting spirit: Distillers are continuing to come forward with offers of help in the battle against coronavirus.

The Scotch Whisky Association said more than 130 submissions have been made in three weeks to the online portal it set up to connect producers with frontline health services in need of hand sanitiser or ethanol. Dozens of community care providers, prisons, NHS trusts and funeral homes, have registered their requirements.

So far distillers across Scotland have pledged more than 13.5 million litres of ethanol to support the production of more than 54 million bottles of hand sanitiser.

Liam Hughes, of Glasgow Distillery Company, said: “Since registering with the SWA portal we’ve been contacted by organisations requesting hand sanitiser across the Central Belt and further afield. Having initially scaled up production to accommodate demand, we are now working on another batch, and the portal has helped us to ensure that hand sanitiser is reaching those who need it.”

Caring card: ROYAL Bank of Scotland has ushered in a new service to help ensure essential goods reach vulnerable customers during the pandemic.

The bank has introduced a “companion card” for existing current accounts that be topped up by £100 and given to a trusted person to enable them to make purchases for those in their care.

The carers card will be associated with the account but kept separate on the bank’s systems to enhance security. It does not share a PIN or long card number with the customer’s existing debit cards and ATM withdrawals are restricted

to £50.

Moore money: Shepherd Chartered Surveyors has backed the inspirational efforts of Captain Tom Moore, the 99 year old Yorkshireman who has so far raised an incredible £27.5 million for the NHS by walking lengths of his garden.

The practice has donated £2,500 to Sir Tom’s cause, the notional cost of PPE (personal protective equipment) for its business for

two months.