A British NHS worker became the first volunteer to be given a test Ebola vaccine yesterday.

Healthy former nurse Ruth Atkins was one of 60 people who came forward to help Oxford University researchers find a cure for the deadly virus.

Ms Atkins said she volunteered after hearing about the epidemic which has so far killed 2250 people.

“Being part of this vaccination process was something small I could do to hopefully make a huge impact,” she added.

Leading the Jenner Institute research was Professor Adrian Hill who said the trial was “a very important step in fighting the outbreak.”

Professor Hill also suggested that “if everything works well over the coming months we will hopefully be using this for healthcare workers by the end of the year.”

Ms Atkins is reportedly doing well and told the press: “I feel absolutely fine, it felt no different to being vaccinated before going on holiday.”