This is the moment London’s Woolwich Ferry joined the acclaim for NHS staff battling the coronavirus pandemic.
The commuter ship, which operates in the southeast of the capital, spun to form doughnuts and honked its horn in the middle of the River Thames on Thursday night.
The captain of the vessel performed the touching gesture as the nation held the fourth consecutive Clap for Carers to pay gratitude to health workers on the front line.
Onlookers were left astounded and cheered on from the banks of the Thames.
One user tweeted: “Nice touch from the @TFL #woolwichferry doing lovely (and nippy) 360 spins for #clapforheroes".
Another added: “The fab crew of the #Woolwich ferry not only sound their horn to let us know its 8pm & time for #ClapForCarers - tonight Dame Vera gave a twirl!”
A steering company even joined in the praise, tweeting: “We feel honoured to have provided the thrusters for the Woolwich Ferry!”
Thousands turned out on their doorsteps nationwide for the round of applause, but at Westminster Bridge a group were criticised for failing to follow social distancing rules.
A video posted to Twitter shows police cars parked on the central London bridge, as crowds gather in front of them to clap, but it sparked a backlash after many appeared to be within 6ft of each other.
