A Dumfries supermarket worker who went above and beyond during the coronavirus crisis has scooped an award.

Myra Smith was nominated for a 100 Thank Yous award from the Cumberland Building Society for her efforts

The Morrisons community champion was put forward for the scheme which recognises those who have acted to help others during the pandemic.

Myra was a part-time worker before lockdown but stepped up to mastermind the store’s community engagement efforts as the virus crisis deepened.

She said: “I’m over the moon, and I know the rest of the team are - it’s a joint effort, as all of our colleagues have gone the extra mile. I think most of us feel proud that we have been seen as key workers during this crisis, and obviously it’s been very hard work with all the changes.

“It’s quite often just myself in the photos as it’s part of the job, but for this one I wanted as many people represented as possible from all the different departments because they’ve done a great job.”

Myra was handed a special plaque in recognition of her efforts.

She added: “It’s a beautiful, stunning award and one that we want to put on display somewhere where we can all enjoy it.

“I was a community champion for one day a week before all this, but I’ve been doing it full-time since the lockdown started.

“It’s a very rewarding job, and it’s not just handing out the odd raffle prize - we’ve been working with food banks, donating to the covid ward at the hospital, the ambulance staff and taking Easter eggs to the hospital.

“We’ve supported all kinds of other key workers too, at the bus depot, bin collectors - they have been really happy to see us, and it’s a good feeling knowing that we’ve helped as many people as possible.”

Click and collect and order delivery services were also launched early to help those shielding or self-isolating as they struggled to shop and queues soared.

Myra added: “We’ve had to make it safe and welcoming for people and lately there have been people who have not left the house for 18 or 19 weeks coming in store for the first time and saying how they didn’t feel worried at all.”

Des Moore, CEO of The Cumberland, said: “We want to say thank you to people like Myra by telling the stories of 100 people from across our region who have gone the extra mile to help during this crisis.

“We have not been defeated by coronavirus. Though much remains to be done, the way we have worked together and looked after each other has helped us prevail.

“Our 100 thank yous is a salute to that.”