Gin distillery serves Brighton and Hove sanitiser

Go-Ahead-owned Brighton & Hove Buses has found an unlikely source of hand sanitiser for its drivers and other frontline colleagues: a local gin distillery.

After exhausting his usual suppliers, the operator’s Stores Manager, Steve Trewin, discovered gin distillery Murray & Yeatman was supplying medical-grade hand sanitiser to vital local service providers and businesses. Brighton & Hove Buses bought 150 litres of the stuff, which must be at least 80% alcohol to be classed as medical-grade by the World Health Organisation. As well as finding novel sources of hand sanitiser, Steve has scoured the internet to find hundreds of smaller, empty bottles so drivers can decant their own supplies from the 10-litre tubs of sanitiser in each depot.

On the decision to switch to making hand sanitiser instead of gin, Murray & Yeatman’s Managing Director and distiller, Rob Murray, said: “We decided we would do it for care homes and nursing homes throughout Sussex. I expected there to be a couple of hundred. There are thousands! I couldn’t believe it. We started ringing round and everyone we rang said ‘look, we’re desperate’.”