Nurse who self-isolated in a garden caravan for nine months to protect her 84-year-old mother from coronavirus moves back home after the pensioner gets her vaccination

A nurse who self-isolated in a caravan for nine months to protect her elderly mother from coronavirus has been able to move back home after her mother received the vaccine in December.

NHS nurse Sarah Link and her husband Gary lived in the caravan parked in their driveway in Cradley, a village in the Black Country, to shield Sarah's 84-year-old mother from contracting the virus while they continued working.

Sarah, who has worked as a nurse for 17 years, works at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Gary runs a fishmonger's business.  

NHS nurse Sarah Link and her husband Gary (pictured together) lived in the caravan parked in their driveway in Cradley, a village in the Black Country, to shield Sarah's 84-year-old mother from coronavirus

The couple bought the caravan in March last year thinking they would be living there for a few weeks - not nine months

They bought the caravan for £600 in March last year at the beginning of the pandemic thinking it would only be a temporary solution.

Speaking to the BBC, Sarah said they thought they would be living in the caravan for a few weeks and never thought they would be there for nine months.

'We were thinking it would be four weeks, 12 weeks max, then the summer came and went and nine months later we were still there,' she said. 

'It was incredible, I just can't believe we did it.' 

The couple decorated the caravan throughout the year for both Halloween and Christmas, covering it with fairy lights and erecting a large 'NHS' sign on the top

Sarah, who works as a nurse at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth, said despite the difficulties, she said she would do it all again tomorrow to protect her mother

The couple decorated the caravan throughout the year for both Halloween and Christmas, covering it with fairy lights and erecting a large 'NHS' sign on the top. 

However, the pair tested positive for coronavirus in December but were able to continue to self-isolate in the caravan.

Sarah said she 'cried a river' in the caravan as she struggled with their difficult living situation and said if it wasn't for the support of her husband, she wouldn't have made it through. 

But despite the difficulties, she said she would do it all again tomorrow to protect her mother.  

After her 84-year-old mother was inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine in December, they were able to move back into the home they share.

Sarah said it made for the best Christmas they had ever had, describing it as 'magical'. 

'It was like winning the lottery, waking up in a proper bed,' she said. 'I wouldn't be happier if I'd won a million pounds.'

Sarah and Gary were able to move back into the home they share with Sarah's elderly mother in December after the 84-year-old was inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, making for the best Christmas they had ever had