AN INSPIRATIONAL pharmacy delivery driver has been named a Hampshire Hero for her work during the pandemic.

Hayley Snyder, who works for Paydens Pharmacy in Brighton Hill and has spent lockdown delivering prescriptions and shopping to elderly and vulnerable residents, has been given the award by Winchester Distillery.

She was given a hamper of local produce as a prize, and says she was "over the moon" to find out she had won.

"I had got a message from my boss to say that I had won something and the people from Winchester Distillery got in touch too," she told The Gazette.

Basingstoke Gazette:

"It was great because it contained a lot of gin!

"It was nice to be recognised without realising what I had actually done."

Put forward to be a Hampshire Hero by her boss, Hayley had used her bonus to buy a week's worth of shopping for a struggling family during lockdown, and deliver it safely to their doorstep.

The 42-year-old recognised that whilst it had been a difficult few months, it had also been rewarding.

"It has been really rewarding. The amount of customers who say they really appreciate us is amazing.

"Everyone is thankful, but there are some that go over the top and give us gifts and stuff.

"It is like something out of a movie."

Basingstoke Gazette:

The mother of three says she was moved to tears one day when she left her liveried van in the car park outside of Chineham shopping centre one day whilst getting lunch, only to return for a bunch of flowers to be left on her windscreen.

"I've only just realised really what this meant to me.

"Me and my colleagues have been so busy at the pharmacy we've all just pulled together and got on with it. We're such a strong team."