From begonias to biryani - the weird and wonderful gifts given to our hospital workers

Plum and mulled wine jam, Peri Peri chicken, 400 pot plants and a vat of biryani.

No it's not a bizarre lockdown shopping list. It's just a flavour of the weird and wonderful gifts being showered upon hospital workers in our region.

All across the country, NHS workers are being celebrated - morale lifted by tokens of appreciation both small and large.

As teams battle the coronavirus pandemic - and come under increasing pressure - those presents become ever more important.

Some have expressed their thanks with financial support. Others have donated sweets, food and flowers.

At the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston this week, Chief Executive Anna Hills was stunned and delighted to receive a giant vat of biryani.

At the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital donations have been flooding in, often from local businesses.

Some of the support has been financial, with money used to "support teams during the hardest weeks and months ahead".

But staff have also received a variety of gifts - everything from jars of jam and boxes of coffee to shower gel and pot plants.

Some big national firms have also joined in, including Nando's which delivered meals to hospital staff across the country.

Kettering General Hospital said those co-ordinating their donations had been "overwhelmed by the generosity of the local community".

Hundreds of members of staff have been treated to free breakfasts.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn has benefited from donations ranging from cakes and Easter treats to hand creams.

A local brewery has even offered "100 post shift beers" to the staff.

They said the offer was in "heartfelt appreciation to Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, the NHS and their families".