Now we clap for YOU! Moment NHS staff applaud man who clapped outside hospital for 40 days of Covid crisis so he ‘realises how many people he’s helped’
- Colin Wilkinson clapped for 40 days straight in supports of NHS staff workers
- Mr Wilkinson greeted staff as they began work at Basildon hospital, Essex
- Hundreds turned out to return the applause and give him a special moment
- He has been presented with a gift from Basildon Mayor David Burton-Sampson
After clapping for 40 consecutive days outside Basildon Hospital to support NHS workers, Colin Wilkinson has had the favour repaid by grateful staff.
On Friday hundreds of staff members turned the tables and rang out the applause for Colin, as the man himself stood by watching on.
Mr Wilkinson started clapping staff as they arrived for work at the entrance of Basildon Hospital in Essex early on April 25.
He decided to continue clapping them every morning, applauding workers for 40 days straight before they gathered to celebrate him on Wednesday.
Colin Wilkinson clapped for NHS staff every morning for 40 days outside Basildon hospital in Essex, and was rewarded with a special t-shirt and an appreciative applause of his own
Dee Saunders and her husband Kevin both work at the hospital, as a healthcare assistant and porter respectively, and said the sight of Mr Wilkinson each day had given her hope.
‘It has been hard for us… There have been times I didn’t know what I was going to walk into,’ Mrs Saunders told the PA news agency.
Hundreds turned out to thank Mr Wilkinson for his morale-raising efforts
‘But knowing that when I hit the roundabout just at the opening into the hospital, there was Colin on the green with the banner behind him always with a smile on his face clapping and saying thank you.
‘It would give me hope that today was going to be a good one and hope that we were getting closer to the end of this all.
‘I really don’t think he realises how many people he has helped to get through these very tough times.’
Mr Wilkinson told LBC he decided to start clapping workers in April after walking to a rainbow-adorned banner outside the hospital to pray.
‘A car went past, I started clapping… another car went past, I clapped again because that’s what we do for the NHS… it just went from there basically,’ he said.
Health workers have spoken of their gratitude to Mr Wilkinson, and outlined how his presence in the morning gave them inspiration for the day ahead in fighting coronavirus
At the show of appreciation for Mr Wilkinson’s efforts, he was presented with a gift from Basildon Mayor David Burton-Sampson and a card from the hospital’s lead chaplain.
While droves turned out to clap, he was given a t-shirt which read: ‘Colin the clapper made the NHS happier.’