A distillery has put its production line to use making hand sanitiser which will be made available to local health workers.

The team at Maidstone Distillery in the Market Buildings had expected to be bottling gin, but instead relaxation of the rules on the use of alcohol in the making of hand sanitisers means they have switched production to help increase stocks during the coronavirus crisis.

A post on the town centre venue's Facebook page said: "This certainly isn't the first product we thought would leave the distillery, but we find ourselves spurred on to do whatever we can to support the fight against Covid-19.

"Following recent advice from HMRC, who have relaxed licensing around the use of alcohol in the production of hand sanitisers, we're thrilled that we can do our bit to help equip local health and public services.

"For now we we'll be distributing to organisations locally, but we hope to be able to expand this in time. Distilleries up and down the country are turning their expertise and equipment to this worthy cause. Together we'll beat this."

The new distillery is the work of husband-and-wife team Darren and Samantha Graves and is situated in an historic structure dating back to 1835 which once housed the county town's corn exchange.

Production of gin in Maidstone was famous across the world during the 18th and 19th centuries, and nods will be made to its heritage at the new venue.

Speaking when plans for the visitor centre and bar were announced last year, Mr Graves said: "Maidstone had a very well-known distillery for 150 years, making spirits that had European acclaim.

"It seems to have been lost over a period of decades, and we want to help bring that back. We think this is an idea to help us create something that will really resonate with the community and revive this legacy that Maidstone is really famous for."

If you are an organisation who could benefit from supplies of hand sanitiser from the distillery email your request to hello@themaidstonedistillery.com

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