A volunteer is using 3D printing to plug the shortfall in coronavirus masks for NHS staff. 

Two days ago Stewart Priest, 37, from Clydebank, launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to pay for the production of face shields. 

On the website GoFundMe, he set up a page asking for £500 - but smashed this target in one day and has now raised more than £1,000.

In his day job, Stewart works in IT for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

But out of hours, he tinkers with 3D printers, which build three-dimensional objects from melted plastic. 

He decided to put his printer to work producing masks for NHS nurses after responding to a call from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Staff in the hospital's maxillofacial department have also been printing masks, which you can see in the tweet below. 

However, the price of the "filament" used in 3D printers has almost doubled during the coronavirus crisis, which prompted Stewart to start a fundraiser.

He's now working flat out to make masks. 

His wife and children have even been enlisted to man the printer, which is running night and day to meet demand.

"Everyone has a duty to help," he told The Herald. 

"It doesn't matter what you do - there's always a way of helping.

"In the UK, NHS staff are held up as bastions of good.

"They are always there, whether you need them or not, and hopefully always will be."

The masks are based on an open-source design from the Czech Republic. 

In the comments on Stewart's GoFundMe page, donors raged about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to NHS staff.

"Just sorry I couldn’t donate more and a disgrace that you even need to do this but you are a treasure to society, people like you make me proud to be from this country," wrote one man. 

"Disgusting that the government hasn't supplied all the PPE required," another added. 

You can support Stewart by clicking here and making a donation.