Heroic NHS worker walks through blizzard for two hours to get home after gruelling shift

An NHS worker was pictured walking through a blizzard to get home after her gruelling shift after disastrous weather cut off transport and almost left her stranded.

Laura Witham, a radiographer from Ipswich, was pictured close to the end of her arduous journey by her boyfriend James Pawsey.

The picture was taken after Laura trudged three and a half miles home from Ipswich Hospital following a night shift.

Laura texted James on her way home, and he snapped the photo of her on a snow-covered bridge from the balcony of their home.

James told The Mirror: ‘I’m always really proud of Laura, but seeing her walk 3.5 miles after a 13-hour night shift made me even more so.

‘When she’s on nights, I usually pick her up when I wake up in the morning, but couldn’t get the car out at all. It was stuck in masses of snow. All I could do was make her a hot chocolate when she got home.

‘After work, she waited for a bus for a while, but we both realised none were running, so she had to walk for nearly two hours.

‘She was up all night, but it’s been a struggle for her to get to hospital and back all week, so just got on with it. On Wednesday night, we tried to drive in, but it was impossible.’

James tweeted the picture of Laura, and was met with a wave of support and admiration.

As the adverse weather continues, stories like Laura’s of ordinary people going above and beyond to help others continue to emerge.

Yesterday, a nurse who walked 10 miles in the freezing cold to get to her patients at Lincoln County Hospital was treated to al all-expenses-paid holiday by This Morning.

Kay Mayer was handed the treat for her and her son after travelling on foot for three hours. She appeared live on air via video link from the hospital, and was clearly thrilled when she found out about the surprise.

In Northumberland, a Greggs delivery driver was hailed a hero after handing out doughnuts and cakes to motorists trapped on the roads by the weather.

Jon Gowing had been stuck for hours in Lindisfarne, Northumberland when he decided to unload his lorry and share the spoils among nearby drivers.

Freezing rain and sheet ice are adding fresh misery to the major disruption today, and severe warnings remain in place across the country.