Leeds teacher's face shield design protecting NHS staff from coronavirus

Andrew Mason, 32, who was brought up in Chapel Allerton, wanted to help in the fight against Covid-19.

Mr Mason, who is head of design and technology at Marlborough College in Johor, Malaysia, worked on designing a reusable face shield which would be cheap and quick to mass produce.

He made a laser-cut plastic sheet head strap with replaceable transparent plastic sheets for the visor.

In the past three weeks Mr Mason has produced more than 1,000 of the face shields, which have been gratefully received by two hospitals in Malaysia.

He has shared his design for face shields with UK schools and colleges and said thousands are being produced every day for hospitals, GP surgeries, dentists and nursing homes.

Mr Mason said The UK Design and Technology Association has endorsed his face shield design.

Mr Mason spoke to the YEP as we continue our series of #healthheroes stories.

The YEP is celebrating health workers across Leeds, who are the very front line of keeping our nation safe during the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Mason said there are many 3D printed models of face shields being produced globally, but they take two hours to manufacture.

He said his design takes two minutes to manufacture and two minutes to assemble.

Father-of-one Mr Mason, a former student at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield, said: "We feel we can so we should help."

He added: "The community of design and technology teachers in the UK is a significant workforce.

"Going forward the aim is to get a standardised, accredited design which can be shared globally."

Mr Mason studied product design at the University of Leeds and went on to teach design and technology at Titus Salt School in Baildon for two years.

He worked at Markham College in Lima, Peru, for three years before moving to his current job in Malaysia in 2016.

Mr Mason's mother Gill Mason, of Roundhay, said: "We are very proud of him. We have always known he has got fantastic skills in design and technology."