The twins’ father died suddenly in 2020, and their mother said she was “incredibly proud of them” when they graduated.

Jessica and Lucy worked as clinical apprentices and healthcare assistants at the Royal Derby Hospital before taking their degrees in 2021.

Jessica said: “We lost our father when we were 22 and, after working in hospital during the pandemic, we decided we wanted to continue nursing together.

“It made us realize that life is too short.”

Jessica currently works as an A&E nurse at the Royal Derby Hospital, while her sister works as a general medicine ward nurse at the same hospital.

Lucy said: “I’m really proud of us both and we’re so happy we did it.

“Our degree was tough but we supported each other; it was always nice to be able to come home and talk to each other about our studies.

“Knowing we had each other kept us both going.”