BARROW MP Simon Fell has praised Furness Academy’s staff for supporting the NHS.

“This is a welcome move by the Cumbria Local Resilience Forum,” he said.

“They have planned ahead and have been pragmatic in order to take the strain off Furness General Hospital as we reach peak infection in our area.

“I hope that we may not need some of this extra capacity but having it there means that valuable space is available at the front line as it is needed, which will literally save lives.

“Huge thanks to headteacher Simon Laheney at Furness Academy and his team for being so pragmatic at this time.”