WHAT started off a way to bring smiles to faces has now raised hundreds of pounds for ambulance staff.

Before lockdown Summer Mintrim and her grandmother Wendy decided to draw a rainbow on a wall close to South Central Ambulance Service’s Southern House, in Otterbourne.

“We had some lovely notes from the call handlers which had been put on the rainbow,” Wendy said.

“Then my neighbour was saying why don’t we do them some bacon rolls but because of Covid it was not a good idea.”

This sparked the Summer to get her thinking cap on before deciding to raise money to buy a meal for Southern House employees.

A JustGiving page was set up and within days £950 was raised, with Summer even taking money out of her own piggybank to increase the total.

But the idea of providing a meal voucher for staff proved difficult due to the number of employees and instead it is hoped that the money will go towards a single item to benefit the team during their well-deserved breaks.

“We are hoping they can get something nice for their staff room,” Wendy added.

Speaking about how Summer’s fundraising took off, Wendy said: “She is a little bit bemused about it. She is only eight and she doesn’t consider herself to have done anything spectacular.

“Our family is always encouraging her to help people and look out for other people. She is a thoughtful little girl.”