A MARLBOROUGH optician drove five miles to get contact lenses a soldier being deployed to help enforce the Coronavirus lockdown.

After finding out he would be miles away from home for a number of weeks and realising his contact lenses were about to run out, the soldier called the store on the High Street. He needed a supply of lenses so that he wouldn’t need to keep touching his face to push his glasses back on.

“We don’t usually keep a big stock of contacts in the store as we don’t have much room,” said Marlborough store director, Kathryn Andrews. “But when we got the call, we were determined to help if we could. Luckily, we had two months’ worth in the right prescription.

"I thought the best option was for me to drive them over to him. I also picked up a bag of sweets to give him for the journey. It was great to be able to do something to help in what was an already stressful situation and ensure he had one less thing to worry about."

Specsavers’ teams are classed as key workers to provide urgent and essential eye care to those who need it. That includes supporting other key workers who couldn’t function without their help and people who would come to harm without their health expertise, especially where the usual hospital services and NHS facilities are being prioritised for the fight against COVID-19.

Customers can phone the store for advice and to be assessed on the level of care that they might need, the only exception being key workers who are able to walk in and seek immediate advice. Glasses and contact lenses can also be purchased online for customers with a current prescription.

For more information, call the store on 01672 517900 or visit www.specsavers.co.uk