In more normal times Melanie Smith is to be found working hard as Head of Compliance for the independent brands of LSL.

Lately, since being furloughed, she has been spending her time rallying her local community to good causes and in the process getting herself filmed with Ross Kemp and very large pile of sticky buns…as you do.

One of our readers spotted the good news story on LinkedIn so we made contact with Melanie to find out how she ended up with Kemp – who is of course currently to be seen in the ITV series ‘On the NHS Front Line.’

Melanie told us:

“In my village of Downley, which is part of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, we have a very active Whatsapp group of ‘Street Reps’ who look after anyone in the surrounding areas who needs help.

“When I was furloughed I got in touch with them, joined, and I started delivering food parcels.

“One of the first calls was to a woman who had lost her job some weeks ago and had not eaten in two days.

“When she saw the parcel, she cried, and for me it was a real ‘smack in the face moment’.

“Lots of local people wanted to give food so I contacted our local food bank to ask if our street reps could collect food for them to donate, but they told me they had more than enough food and what they really needed was cash.

“So I decided to start a new food bank and we now deliver food to needy people.

“We work under the motto of ‘We give without judgement or question’ and yesterday, for example, we did five parcels to feed fifteen people.”

Food is being donated by local residents and also by the local supermarkets including, Lidl, Tesco, and Morrisons who all give residual food from their stores.

The group is in the process of starting up a free-food shop where anyone can come and fill a bag.

Melanie told us about how she found herself being filmed with Ross Kemp:

“One of the really great initiatives we have started is the Sticky Bun Run.

“On a Monday, we provide loads of lovely buns and baked goods to some of the more vulnerable residents in Downley, who might not like to ask for help.

“We give the buns to the Street Reps who then deliver to their residents and it’s a really brilliant way of breaking the ice and having a bit more of a chat as the buns are handed over.

“We hope that as the residents begin to accept the buns they will be more able to then ask for any help needed.

“This process was filmed yesterday for a BBC programme with Ross Kemp, due to be shown in June so watch this space!”