A TORFAEN woman has been spending her free time during the lockdown knitting NHS nurses to raise vital funds for the Aneurin Bevan Trust.

Jane Matthews, 53, from Abersychan, has been raising money for charity with her mum by selling their woollen creations since 2017.

And after lockdown measures came in to force, Ms Matthews decided to recreate NHS nurses in wool.

“In 2017 I lost my dad and two weeks later I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “Towards the end of the year I took some time off work and my mum and I would knit.

“I was knitting things and selling them to raise money for Velindre, and managed to raise around £500.

“Recently, my mum had a plan come through for knitting nurses and I asked if I could have a copy of it.

“My partner Chris suggested I knit a face mask on them to make it relevant to what we are going through now, and that we should sell them to raise money for the NHS.

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(Jane Matthews has been knitting nurses and selling them to raise money for the NHS. Picture: Chris Jones)

“Each one takes me around 10 hours.

“Each one is unique, and has something special about it. For example, there is only one with long sleeves.

“My mum has knitted a couple of nurses too.

“I do her shopping once a week as she is isolating, and I drop off some wool for her to keep busy.

“I just thought it was a nice way to spend the time.

“The NHS have been amazing with me, and I just wanted to give a little bit back.”

As each nurse takes roughly two evenings to complete, Ms Matthews is currently working through the orders she has already received.

“We can still take orders at the moment,” she said. “We have had around 10 to 13 orders so far and I’ve finished around five, but everyone who orders one will get one.

“As well as the nurses, we have decided everything else we knit this year we will be selling to raise money for the NHS.”

If you would like a nurse, message Chris Jones or Jane Matthews directly on Facebook.

It is a £15 minimum donation, and all proceeds will be given to Aneurin Bevan Trust.