A FORMER Bronglais Hospital nurse inspired by her grandchildren and Borth has just published her first children’s novel.

Gabriella Thomas wrote most of The Cats of Butterwick Sands while living and working in Aberystwyth.

Now living in Brixton, she lived in the seaside town from 2010 to 2014.

Her grandchildren live near Borth and the book is dedicated to them, as the clinical nurse specialist who once worked as a staff nurse on Bronglais Hospital’s Enlli Ward explained.

“While I currently live in Brixton, I wrote most of The Cats of Butterwick Sands while living and working in Aberystwyth. Indeed, the first chapter concerns an old fashioned railway station, which I very much based on Borth railway station.

“My motivation to write the book was to give a legacy to my two grandchildren.

“The book, I believe will appeal to children of all ages, as its nostalgia echoes a seaside Britain that, sadly, we seem to have lost.”

The Cats of Butterwick Sands’ dedication reads: "To my inspirations, my grandchildren Mariella and Elliot”.

The book follows the various adventures of cats in a small run-down seaside town called Butterwick Sands, a place that has seen better days.

The hero of the book is a special cat called Percy.

“He is a very clever and dignified cat and he is at the centre of all the adventures, stories and intrigues that the cats and other animals have,” said Gabriella.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition on Wednesday