Wednesbury graduate is third generation of nurses in family

(L to R) Susan Beilby, Beth Pink and Jill Hackwood have all had careers in nursing

The mum of a newly qualified nurse has said how "immensely proud" she is of her daughter, who has become the third generation in her family to have a career in nursing.

Beth Pink, 36, from Wednesbury in the West Midlands, returned to education to pursue her "dream role" at Wolverhampton University.

She said she was inspired by the careers of her mum and grandmother.

Both had worked in health care for more than 20 years.

As a teenager the community mental health nurse knew she wanted a career in nursing, taking on an apprenticeship and volunteering at a nursing home but after graduating she ended up working as a home carer.

"Then I got married, had my little boy and thought I'd go and apply to do nursing," she explained.

"So it came full circle 18 years later."

She now works in a community dementia service.

"It's just a joy, it's like a step up from what I did years ago," she added.

Grandmother Jill Hackwood, 84, said the work had "changed so much since my day".

"When I was nursing we had to clean beds, a lot of the things we had to do then are not done by nurses now," she said.

Her daughter Susan Beilby, 61, said it may be a different profession now "but the core is still taking care of people".

"And the reward for taking care of people is always I think what drives people to be nurses," she added.

"I can't even say how proud I am of Beth, immensely proud."