Shops are closing. Newspaper sales are falling. But we’ve chosen to keep our online journalism free because it’s so important that the people of Glasgow stay informed during this crisis.

To help us get through this, we’re asking readers who can afford it to contribute either £3, £5 or £8 a month to the Glasgow Times.

If you choose to sign up, we’ll also take away all the adverts – and deliver a digital version of the print paper to your device. Click here to help Save Your Times: www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/subscribe

A GLASGOW online travel shop whose sales have dropped 95 per cent in the past two weeks has donated 5000 pairs of compression socks to help Scots nurses combat Covid-19.

The donation will help nurses in six hospitals across Scotland, including the QEUH, and Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

Trtl (pronounced ‘turtle’), which employs 30 people in the city, has pledged to give away 5000 more in the next seven days to nurses in London.

The company had stockpiled thousands of the socks in advance of its peak summer season. But with sales stalling due to the Covid-19 pandemic and little prospect of travel bans being rescinded any time soon, CEO Michael Corrigan decided to use them to support frontline nurses in his home city and across the country.

A 2015 study found the average NHS worker walks 3.6 miles a day with some recording up to 11 miles.

Nurses regularly work 12-hour shifts and wearing compression socks reduces leg soreness, swollen ankles and varicose veins.

Michael explained: “Although the compression socks have been most popular with airline travellers, at the start of this year we ran a small campaign with nurses around the world and they were really happy with them.

“Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about how we can contribute in what is the biggest crisis many of us will face in our lifetimes.

“Nurses across the UK will be tested as never before in the coming weeks and if we can do something to help make the time they spend on their feet more comfortable, we must. They need all the help they can get just now.”

Read more: Coronavirus: 258 cases in Greater Glasgow with three more Scottish deaths overnight

John Stuart, a nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said: “We are under no illusions about what we are going to face in the weeks to come.

“Our nurses work incredibly hard and can spend hours and hours on the move during every shift.

“With these compression socks we can help our staff alleviate some of the discomfort and aches associated with being on your feet for long periods of time and help them better face the challenges that are coming our way with Covid-19.”

He added: “Any gesture like this can help boost morale."