LABOUR is warning that the strain is showing among city council staff in York as they do "incredible work" during the pandemic.

And its councillors say York needs more long term help than its share of the £1.6 billion special coronavirus funding announced yesterday by the Government.

They claim more than 1,000 people, who had not previously been supported or helped by the council, had come forward to ask for help in the last three weeks.

Cllr Fiona Fitzpatrick said: "The toll on council staff hasn't been sufficiently acknowledged though."

She said she had heard many reports of staff having to cope with their own fears while dealing with harrowing phone calls or supporting their distressed colleagues.

“Whether it is refuse teams sharing cabs, adult social care staff struggling for PPE or the traffic wardens volunteering to deliver food parcels, York Labour Group wants to give our thanks and praise to those council staff who are putting their communities first and really delivering for our city

"It’s still very much early days but we must ensure that the excellent work of council staff during this crisis is not lost when we come out the other side.

"The council is the city’s safety net and it needs proper funding not just for the immediacy of this crisis but for the foreseeable future. Everything has changed and we cannot go back.”

The group claims the council had been unaware of the needs of more than 1,000 people before they contacted the council in the last three weeks.

The group's deputy leader Cllr Anne Perrett said council officers and staff are doing "incredible work" during the pandemic.

"What this crisis has shown is just how thinly stretched services have become and how close to the breadline so many York residents are - even during normal circumstances”.

“It’s great that we have been able to help these people but what worries us and council staff alike is how many more people are out there who need our support that we don’t already know about?”

"What is clear is that the help and support being offered at the moment will be needed for months if not years to come."