FRONTLINE staff at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough were gifted a Totum Sport hydrating endurance boost courtesy of two Middlesbrough club legends.

Gary Pallister and Craig Hignett helped deliver the natural supplement which contains 78 electrolytes to help keep the body’s cells properly hydrated.

Frontline workers from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation and Friarage Hospital in Northallerton also benefited from Totum Sport’s nationwide give-back drive to keep frontline Covid-19 workers in tip-top shape through beneficial hydration.

Although Gary and Craig have had 366 appearances for Boro between them, they made time for one more to lift spirits in association with Totum Sport.

The two Middlesbrough Club Legends are both passionate about the area and readily jumped at the chance to help Totum Sport make its delivery to the healthcare heroes.

Totum Sport founder and CEO, John Kelleher, said: “If we think about it, these amazing frontline heroes are, in essence, running 12-hour endurance events every day. They come back the following day and do it all over again. And the day after that, and so on. Proper hydration is vital. We normally supply nutrition and hydration to elite athletes and football players. It’s now obvious that those most in need of optimised conditioning are our seriously over-worked frontline professionals such as the James Cook University Hospital staff. When we’re on the go, after long shifts and under pressure with other people’s lives at stake, it's so easy to forget about nourishing ourselves properly. These people are heroes and Totum Sport wants to do whatever it can to provide them with optimum endurance through efficient hydration. We not only wanted to do whatever we can to help these incredible professionals, we also want to inspire other privately owned companies to do the same.”

Gary said: “My heart remains in Middlesbrough and I do what I can to support worthy initiatives such as this one. I also learnt something very valuable today about what I thought was just a hospital. The James Cook University Hospital is a 1,024-bed major tertiary referral hospital, district general hospital and major trauma centre. Its healthcare workers are truly heroic athletes.”