A Nelson school pupil is the face of Pendle Council’s ‘Let’s Do It for Pendle’ Covid-19 campaign.

The image of mask-wearing Ria Masih, 11, of Fisher More High School is being featured on all bus shelters across the borough in a continued bid to raise awareness about the virus and stop the spread.

Councillor Mohammed Iqbal MBE, Leader of Pendle Council said: “We have been running this campaign for several months now, featuring local people sharing our three key messages; wash hands, cover face, make space.

“Whilst the growing number of vaccines being carried across Pendle gives us hope for the future, the virus is still spreading quickly and cases remain high in Pendle.

“And there is the risk of the new variant of the virus, which is even more contagious, so it is vital that we continue to follow lockdown rules to protect ourselves, our family and our community.

Ria’s image with the message ‘Who are you doing it for?’ feature on 40 bus shelters as a reminder to everyone to keep doing their bit to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Ria said: “Seeing my face on bus shelters and billboards was a shock at first!

“But I’m really glad to know it is helping to get the message across about wearing a face covering and following other safety rules.

“I miss my friends and really want to be back at school and to be able to visit the rest of my family!

“I’m like everyone else, I want things to get back to normal as soon as possible.

“But to do that we each need to do our bit to stop the spread right now!”

Councillor Iqbal added: “Please stay at home unless it's essential to go out.

“If you have symptoms or are in any doubt that you might have, it's important that you self-isolate and get tested.”