A worried frontline nurse from Kerry has appealed to people to take government advice seriously as the coronavirus pandemic escalates.

Dawn Williams, who works in the A&E department at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, is one of thousands of nurses from across the UK who are bracing themselves for a wave of cases.

"I love my job but I am terrified to do it, no-one knows what's in store for us all. It's real. It's getting very real," she said.

"The public have been amazing and listening to advice to stay away and stay safe. We are working with patients who are very vulnerable and just as terrified as us."

Dawn returned to work this week after being forced to self-isolate for 10 days with a chest infection. She says her workplace of 13 years has "drastically changed" with new policies and procedures everyday.

"Staff are generally worried, anxious, terrified even of 'what's to come'. We are working as a national NHS family, tighter than ever and learning new things every day about Covid-19. "

The mother of one, who runs The Herbert Arms pub in Kerry with her husband, is urging people to stay at home and stop travelling unnecessarily.

"I'm still so concerned that some members of the public aren't taking government advice seriously and are still going out and having social gatherings.

"We've all got a part to play in this epidemic and we are all sacrificing things, I miss my family too.

"Please please, keep your distance, only go to places when you really need to," she said. "This horrific time could be shortened if everyone does their bit."