STAFF at Bournemouth’s accident and emergency ward may be too busy to finish a hot coffee – but they now have a generous supply of the cold kind.

Local success story Jimmy’s Iced Coffee delivered a specially decorated fridge to the casualty department, along with a promise to keep it fully stocked for free.

The idea came from staff at the Christchurch-based iced coffee brand, who have had occasion to visit A&E at Royal Bournemouth Hospital in the past.

Suzie Owen, who co-founded Jimmy’s Iced Coffee with her brother Jim Cregan, said: “We as a crew have had scrapes and ended up in that department. They are very short staffed but they work extremely hard and it’s a way of us being able to say thank you and recognise how hard they work.

“It’s a way of being able to give them a little light refreshment and pick up their day and bring a smile to their faces. It’s our way of being able to give back.”

The fridge has been decorated like a Jimmy’s carton and will hold 340 cartons at once. The idea is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.

Suzie said: “They’ve got nearly £5,000 worth of stock for the year and a big fridge we bought and had wrapped. We’re going to be stocking it monthly.

“They were delighted. They were extremely pleased and they all said they never get to drink a warm coffee – it always ends up cold. Now they can have a proper ice cold coffee by grabbing one from the fridge.”

She added: “They’re a department that gets overlooked by the public. They never get thanks or anything. They said it was nice to be recognised.”

Jimmy’s Iced Coffee was inspired by Jim Cregan’s experience of trying iced coffee in Australia. The first recipe was mixed at Blend, the cafe Suzie ran in Christchurch.

Today, the drink is stocked by the likes of Waitrose, Tesco and Saisbury’s.

The company, based at Airfield Road, Christchurch, is heading for turnover of £5.5million and is on course to sell 5.5m drinks this year.