A FACEBOOK post by a Worcester nurse challenging health secretary Jeremy Hunt to step into her shoes for an hour has gone viral.

Nicola Kitchin, 37, a nurse at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, posted an image of complicated medical machinery nurses have to manage around an intensive care bed.

She added the caption “I challenge Jeremy Hunt to keep all this going for an hour! Then tell the nurses that they are not worthy of a pay rise!”, along with four angry face emoticons.

The post has been liked more than 80,000 and shared more than 50,000 – and shot the mother-of-two into the media spotlight.

Her angry post slamming Mr Hunt – which strongly argues for a nurse pay rise - has been featured in several national newspapers and on TV.

She said: “Nurses are facing increasing workloads but have had no pay rise in the last few years.

“We have taken a pay cut in real terms as inflation has risen and I really do think we deserve a pay rise.

“The fact I have had so many shares and messages on my post just shows this is something worth fighting for.”

Mrs Kitchin did not take the picture herself but shared it from a nursing page on Facebook.

She previously worked full-time at a hospital critical care unit until earlier this year, but had to take a second job to support her family.

She now works for a nursing agency alongside her role running an online sales and networking business.