THE widow of a man who died in hospital after contracting coronavirus has issued a warning of just how devastating the virus can be ahead of lockdown restrictions being eased later this month.

Cath McTigue lost her husband Richard back in March after his six-week-long battle in hospital and she has spoken about how her and their teenage son Daniel still think of him every day.

The Walney resident and beloved train conductor was just 50 years old when he died, and Mrs McTigue has urged people to remain cautious and to get the vaccine to stop more people going through what her family did.

"I had my first vaccine around Christmas time, but I still caught it a short while later and obviously passed it on to Richard," the Furness General Hospital nurse said.

"I think a mistake was made by the Government in that I got a vaccination, but my husband did not. I was out there doing my job and then obviously he was exposed to it in the house.

"I had the vaccine, and it did not stop me from getting the virus, I just had less severe symptoms so you can still spread it.

"So those who have not already had the vaccine should go and get one."

Mrs McTigue explained that the virus will still spread but vaccination is the key to stopping scenarios of what happened to Richard, whom she described as a "wonderful father and husband".

In particular she has questioned the decision to vaccinate the elderly first, who were shielding at the time, and therefore not as exposed to potential harm as frontline worker families.

This decision is one that has made her believe that she cannot return to nursing in the same capacity as it serves as a constant reminder to her.

"I am living with his death day in and day out, and if I go back to nursing working with elderly people it will constantly make me think of that," she continued. "It is of course not their fault; I just believe the Government made a mistake on this.

"I think Covid is always going to be around. It is something we are going to have to live with."