The caring gene must have been passed on to a nurse's children as his three sons and daughter have also joined the profession.

Twins Damien and Daniel Holt, 26, and brother Robert, 22, hit the headlines a few years ago after their bedside manner proved they were perfect for jobs in nursing.

Now their 21-year-old sister Elizabeth has ensured she is not the odd one out by joining her brothers.

Their father Brendan, of Baildon, trained in the profession and set up several nursing homes for the elderly, where three of his children now work.

Robert is now training to be a doctor at Bradford University.

Elizabeth said: "It is a bit of a family tradition and helps to keep the business going. Nursing is something I have always been interested in and enjoy.

"I look up to my brothers and they look after me. It is really good they will be able to help show me the ropes."

Damien said: "It just seemed to be a natural progression, we weren't forced into it. What we get out of it is job satisfaction, helping elderly people with mental health issues, although it is a very stressful job."

The brothers studied to become psychiatric nurses like their father and Daniel went to work in an Australian hospital for two months as part of his course at Newcastle University.

Damien studied for an advanced diploma in psychiatric nursing at Bradford University. He said: "A lot of people think of nursing as a woman's career. I think that all goes back to the Florence Nightingale image.

"But men sometimes like people of their own gender to talk to."

Robert studied at Shipley College and then at Bradford University where he did his nursing diploma and chemistry.

He said: "We all grew up with everybody talking about nursing and I think psychiatric nursing is the most interesting job a person can do. But I'm doing chemistry as well to try to get into medicine."