A NEWPORT woman has said a "massive thank you" to everyone who helped her raise £2,000 for NHS workers in Gwent in just seven days.

Abbie Merrett set up the fundraiser to help re-supply Aneurin Bevan University Health Board's staff with vital equipment needed to tackle the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

And one week later, Ms Merrett, from Bettws, said she was overjoyed at the "amazing" response from members of the public.

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"I’m so glad I’ve reached [the target] and I’m so glad that money will help in every way possible," she told the Argus.

Ms Merrett will now incorporate the £2,000 into a separate fundraising scheme, set up by the local health board itself a few days after her own appeal launched.

That money will be placed with the Aneurin Bevan Health Charity, into a specific fund for the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic.

The Gwent-based health board is facing the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Wales and the highest proportion of cases in the UK outside Greater London.

Earlier today, the health board said it had reached its capacity for intensive care patients in Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital.

On Ms Merrett's Justgiving page, donors had left messages such as "thank you to all members of the NHS staff" and "I am so grateful for the support and care I have had in the Gwent".

Thanking everyone who donated to her cause, young mum Ms Merrett said: "Every little donation that they made it will make all the difference at this moment in time."