A devoted healthcare worker has shown her commitment to the community she serves by putting in the miles to get to work.

Claire Brotherton, from Haltwhistle, is just one of the region’s nurses working tirelessly to care for the vulnerable and elderly across the Tyne Valley.

But, after shifts, which can run up to a week, she is forced to walk for up to one hour to get home, due to reduced transport services.

Claire, who has been in the profession for 20 years, cares for physically disabled and elderly residents at the Rose Tree Care Home, in Stocksfield, which is owned by Crystal Care Services, and usually relies on rail and taxi services to get to and from work.

Due to staff shortages and government advice against non-essential travel, rail providers are running a reduced service, whilst the local taxi company which would usually take Claire from Haltwhistle Railway Station to her home in Blenkinsopp has closed.

And Claire’s partner, who she lives with, has been left unable to help her, having been identified as a high-risk individual who must self-isolate.

Claire’s daughter, Fay Smith, who also works in the care sector, responded to the Hexham Courant’s appeal for unsung heroes, amid the pandemic, which aims to highlight all of the positive community work being done across Tynedale.

She said: “My mam just amazes me. She hasn’t complained once and is still going to work every day smiling.

“She is a brilliant nurse, who is still able to show so much compassion and love to others, even when she is exhausted herself.

“We have cried our eyes out to each other on the phone in these difficult times.

“Only a couple of days ago, I saw her on the train and I just wanted to hug her, but I knew I couldn’t.

“And only a few days after that, her train didn’t turn up, so she had to sit for two hours waiting for the next one.

“But, it is in times like these that you really see who is willing to go the extra mile. We are so proud of her.”

Fay, who works for a primary healthcare agency in Newcastle, is also assisting in the fight against coronavirus, helping to care for people in need across the North-East.