NHS hospital worker braves snow

Peter Cartwright said he set out prepared with warm clothes and food

A NHS worker walked 18 miles through the snow to London's Guy's Hospital where he works.

Radiographer Peter Cartwright, 53, left his home in Ashford, Kent, at 0530 GMT on Monday and caught a train from the station nearby to Maidstone.

He then made his way into work through a mixture of walking and being offered lifts by passing motorists.

Hospital staff have been praised for covering for staff members who could not get in during the weather.

'Extreme weather'

Mr Cartwright said the kindness of people had been "great".

From Maidstone, he walked along the A20 to Borough Green, got a lift in a van to Swanley, then walked to Eltham, south-east London, then got a lift to Rotherhithe.

He got the Tube from Bermondsey to London Bridge and arrived at 1400 GMT.

"I prepared myself with warm clothes and food for my journey. Once into my work myself and my colleagues who had made it in pretty much got on with what we needed to," he said.

He said he was very pleased that he made the journey in to work and would do it all over again.

Dr Ted Baker, from Guy's and St Thomas's said hospital staff responded "magnificently" during the extreme weather conditions.

"Many night staff remained on duty on Monday morning until others arrived and staff worked flexibly to cover the areas where they were needed most.

"Some, such as Peter Cartwright, walked miles into work. With their help, we were able to minimise the impact on patients and maintain our clinical services in difficult circumstances," he said.

He said services returned to normal on Wednesday.