North End mother and daughter duo give rainbow cake to Queen Alexandra Hospital staff as a thank you

Tracey and Francesca Collins run But First, Cake! from their home in North End and the pair decided to show their appreciation to the workers at Queen Alexandra Hospital who are working flat out amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Head baker Tracey, 56, said: ‘We wanted to do something for the wonderful staff at QA Hospital as we feel so touched by their courage, strength and bravery.

‘We wanted to do something for them for a change. We know this is only a small gesture in comparison to the work they are doing for all of us but we know how much joy cakes can bring and we hope this cheers them up and gives them a boost to carry on.’

Rainbows have become a symbol of thanks to the NHS after children across the country put up drawings in their windows to show their appreciation and spread hope.

The pair cancelled cake and sweet treat orders after the government announced stricter measures to help limit the spread of Covid-19.

Francesca, who runs the social media and deals with delivery, said: ‘We decided to cancel all of our immediate orders after Boris Johnson’s announcement of a lockdown as we didn’t want to encourage people to leave their homes.

‘Due to so many requests, we have since decided to offer a contactless home delivery service, following the food takeaway guidelines.’

The 22-year-old added: ‘We have such a strong respect for all of the NHS staff and having worked at QA Hospital before, I have seen first-hand the sheer dedication and hard work that all of the staff put in day in day out and we can only imagine the stress they are under now.

‘We want them to know how appreciated and needed they really are.’

For more information about home delivery search But First, Cake! on Instagram and Facebook.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.