Simon Townsley/Panos Pictures

Afghanistan veteran and former medic Ian Taylor lives in Avondale House on the Byker estate. He suffers from PTSD but volunteers to help out a local community suffering from the economic fallout from COVID-19.

The Byker community has been blighted by the impact of decades of unemployment and underinvestment. Earlier this month figures released by the Office for National Statistics found the north-east of England had become the area with the highest proportion of deaths linked to COVID-19, with a rate double that of London. And there are fears the economic aftershock could be even more severe.