A MOBILE fish n chip shop owner is ‘touched’ by peoples response after serving nearly 600 free portions of food to NHS and care home workers throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Owner of StarChip Enterprises, which has pitched up at Badsey and the Vale of Evesham villages, Jeffrey Warren said: “It was beautiful. At times we have had queues of 30 people, and when someone came along who had finished a 13-hour shift, people were stepping out the way to let them through.”

“One of the residents in The Lenches said it bought a tear to his eye because he didn’t think people cared. He had done an 18-hour shift and people were clapping him.”

StarChip has also been to rural areas with a van loaded with essentials like toilet roll, milk, bread, and eggs as well as picking up prescriptions for the elderly and self-isolating.

Mr Warren said: “We have been serving people who can’t get into town, if we had stopped working, a lot of people have said they would have struggled in the lockdown. They didn’t have the basics.”

“You just can’t believe how touched people are. Everyone has been social distancing, no one has moaned.”

All mobile catering was stopped during the lockdown and Seafish, the government body issued only 8 national critical worker certificates, one of which was granted to StarChip because of its good reputation, meaning it could continue to take food out to the community, including staff at Evesham Hospital and Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

StarChip also visited Briarlea Care Home on Badsey Road, Evesham on Wednesday where they fed nurses and residents.

The care home posted on Facebook: “Not only did they cook and serve all residents and staff, they did this without taking payment from us! What a fantastic gesture!And we absolutely loved it!”

Mr Warren praised the StarChip team for their hard work including directors Directors Rebecca Warren and Wayne Tipping.

The dad of two said: “I was really peeved with all the chip shops shutting. There are people who rely on the chip shops for food.”

“We have decided to extend our free food for critical workers until at least the end of the year.”