Care home staff have made an emotional plea for people to ‘do as they are told’ to protect front line workers’ health.

Registered manager Anna Knight and head of care Andrea Winfield at Harbour House in West Bay have made a video urging people to stay inside while they look after the elderly and vulnerable.

In the video they say how angry they both are that people are not listening to advice and continue to go out, putting their health at risk.

Andrea said she was feeling upbeat and staff morale was good until she drove home on Tuesday.

She said: “There was so much traffic and so many people walking around and I do not believe they were out doing their hour exercise or going to work.

“Everybody is saying how much they appreciate the people on the front line, all the key worker staff and all the work we are doing and what the nurses are doing. But just do as you’re told, do not go out unless you have to.

“I am here looking after everybody’s loved ones, but while I’m doing that, I’m not looking after my own, I can’t see them. My dad is 81 on Monday and I can’t see him, and I feel guilty that I’m here looking after everybody else’s loved ones but I can’t look after my own.

“The longer people do not listen and [do not] stay in, the longer this is going on, the longer I am kept away from my grandchildren, so I’m taking it personally now. I want to shout at people, in the supermarket they are going around and talking to each other - what are they playing at? Do they not understand?

“People are being really selfish and it’s getting to the point where I want to scream and shout at people in the street.”

Anna Knight said she hadn’t seen her children since Friday and begged for people to let front line carers do their jobs.

“You’re making it so difficult for us,” she said.

“There are people out there wandering around, we’re both angry and upset.

“Stop doing the things you don’t need to do; is it not clear enough how much is going on out there?

“Just stop thinking about yourselves, think about the vulnerable individuals, people wearing the badges that say VIP - vulnerable isolating person - they are the people we need to care for. If you don’t care for us, we won’t be able to care for anybody. Just listen to what we have said, it is really, really important.”

Andrea added: “I need my family and I need to see my family. The longer this goes on, the worse I am going to be, like everybody else, and I’m not going to be able to care for everybody else’s loved one, somebody is going to have to care for me.”