RAIL staff at Crewe station have chronicled their experiences of the railway during the pandemic to raise money for charity and encourage others to share their stories.

Now Marc Scruton and Jacqui Hemingway, of Avanti West Coast Customer Service Team, want others to share their story of life under lockdown in Crewe.

Team Leader Marc and Customer Service Assistant Jacqui have worked together to create a photo book that documents the station and its team over the last seven months.

Marc, who has worked as a professional photographer, seized on the opportunity when Crewe Station was almost deserted to venture around with his camera.

His photos are a record of what the team at Crewe experienced and how they worked to keep vital services running during Covid-19.

The unusual scenes of empty platforms and entrances captured by Marc's photos, prompted Jacqui to ask colleagues to share their experience of working on the railway throughout the pandemic.

Their stories have been brought together, alongside staff portraits and sights only witnessed by Marc, for a book that provides a first-hand account of Crewe Station – from the moment it fell silent as the country went into lockdown, to the minutes the team burst into applause to show their appreciation for carers and NHS workers.

The book will be auctioned off online on November 26, as part of Rail Aid – a fundraising initiative for Railway Children, an international children's charity based in Sandbach.

Marc said: "As a photographer I take my camera everywhere, so this gave me an opportunity to keep it at work and use it to document as much as possible during the pandemic.

"We witnessed the station as never seen before and I wanted to capture it through our eyes, as we experienced it – and for the feelings, thoughts, fears, challenges and experiences of my colleagues to be recorded.

"Through my photography I was keen to provide an insight into what we felt and some of the sights we saw.

"To see Crewe during ordinary peak times with only one or two people travelling is surreal. I hope our book gives a sense of what we experienced in the last few months, something that could only really be understood if you worked here at the time."

Jacqui now wants to chronicle a snapshot of life in Crewe during lockdown with a project titled 'Capture Crewe'.

"We have missed the familiar faces of customers at the station and engaging with our local community. We're keen to connect with them and Capture Crewe is designed to do that through photography, while raising vital funds for Railway Children," explained Jacqui.

"We would love to know what they've experienced. Whether it's making a difference, taking up a hobby or enjoying the simple things, we want to tell Crewe's story and remind people they're not alone."

The team at Crewe Station are inviting customers and the local community to share a photo and short statement of their experience of the pandemic which will be displayed at the station and on Avanti West Coast's social media channels.

Images must be submitted by November 27 and