Many of us have been putting posters in our windows to support the NHS, but one Kings Hill businessman decided to go bigger - and has raised thousands in the process.

Dave Hurring chose to order a big banner to put up outside his house to show his support for our key workers and when he asked friends if they wanted one too, in exchange for a donation to the NHS, he realised there was a wider demand for them.

In just two weeks, word spread and there are now some 200 banners for the Kent Heroes Initiative all over Kings Hill and at shops in the surrounding area, as well as in places further afield including Aylesford, Bearsted, Westerham, and Biggin Hill.

Dave, a former chairman of Kings Hill Parish Council, who is a financial consultant by day, has now raised more than £3,000 for the cause.

An initial Just Giving page for the initiative, which raised money for the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust reached its target in less than a fortnight, and now he has opened a second, which has a target of £5,000, which will raise funds for the Kent NHS Charitable Fund NHS and some local charities impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

It has already raised almost £300 in a day.

He said: "I wanted to show my support and I thought about getting a banner done. Then I asked some friends, and more and more wanted one and they were really positive about it, and I realised I should do it as a fundraiser."

"It is gong really, really well. There are at least 130 up around Kings Hill."

He has also been helped with managing donations and banner deliveries by Clare Barnes.

To donate to the page, go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/c19kent. Once you have donated, contact Dave to get your banner via C19Kent@yahoo.com

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