The Sikh community has rallied together to ensure hospital workers don't go hungry over the Christmas period.

Hundreds of free curries and spicy pasta dishes have been prepared by Gravesend Gurdwara volunteers and delivered to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford.

It comes after the on-site canteen operated to reduced hours on Christmas Day after the trust confirmed shorter service times were not due to absences related to Covid-19 cases.

Staff were also unable to grab a meal or a quick snack at nearby shops which had also shut over the festive break.

With doctors and nurses facing the same tummy rumbling prospect over Boxing Day and Monday – both bank holidays – a friend of the staff got in touch with a contact at the Gravesend Gurdwara.

Committee member Tony Rana helped project manage the Sikh community's herculean efforts to deliver hundreds of meals to medics battling Covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic.

So when he was approached again he and fellow volunteers were only too happy to help.

The local councillor said: "One of the doctor's friends rang me on Boxing Day.

"They wanted to get something from outside but everything was shut. He said how could we help?"

After making a couple of calls Mr Rana was able to round up volunteers from the Sikh temple who helped prepare and deliver 130 hot and spicy pasta dishes to hospital staff on Boxing Day.

On Monday, the Langar – the community kitchen of the Gurdwara which provides free meals – surpassed this total, providing 250 hot meals.

He added: "We get a few volunteers together and the Langar is always working on a seven-day basis so we just made extra."

During the first lockdown, the Sikh community in Gravesend rallied together to make thousands of meals for hospital workers.

They also made thousands of hot meals for lorry drivers stranded on the M20 due to the border closure over last Christmas.

Volunteers are again on standby in case they are called upon again over the New Years period.

A spokesman for Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said: "The kind offering of the Gravesend Gurdwara provided some delicious food for our hard working Trust staff to enjoy over the Christmas period."

NHS staff absences due to Covid have been on the increase across England over the Christmas period.

It has prompted fresh concerns about the ability of hospitals to manage any Omicron-related surge in patient care.

At Darent Valley, the trust has once again taken the decision to limit the number of face-to-face visits for patients.

It means patients may only have one daily visit of an hour from a designated visitor who has taken a lateral flow test within 24 hours of the scheduled visit.

The hospital's maternity unit has also imposed tighter visiting restrictions for birth partners attending the wards.