City man raises a smile during his vaccination

A COVENTRY man raised plenty of smiles when he went for his Covid vaccination on St Patrick’s Day dressed as Ireland’s patron saint himself - complete with rubber snake and a clover face mask.

Stiofan Mac Diarmada tries to celebrate 17 March in a unique way each year - and when he received a message asking him to book his Covid jab he saw it as a perfect opportunity.

Celebrated across the world, St Patrick’s day is named for the man who legend says drove snakes out of the Emerald Isle.

Stiofan said: “When I got the appointment through I had options to get it done on Saturday, but I saw the option for St Patrick’s Day and I always book it off anyway, so I thought ‘why not do it then.’

“Every year I have a special outfit for the day. So this time I thought I’d do something a bit different and have St Patrick going for his jab - banishing snakes and Covid!

“I had a lot of people coming over and asking for pictures and asking if they could share it on social media.”

However, the excitement didn’t end there, and on his way out of the vaccination centre in Stoneleigh, Stiofan made the most of another brilliant photo opportunity when he noticed a certain famous yellow Robin Reliant from a classic BBC comedy.

He explained: “Then on the way out I spotted the car from Only Fools and Horses at an online auction they were having so had to have a photo. This time next year Rodders we might be able to have a pint of Guinness in the pub!

“I’d had an Irish breakfast, and later on we’ll have boiled bacon and cabbage, a traditional Irish meal - and a few pints of Guinness of course!”

The car, made famous by the classic sitcom, is being auctioned by Warwickshire based Silverstone Auctions.

The iconic yellow Reliant Regal is one of the most recognisable vehicles in Britain and it’s one of the original six used in the sitcom about Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter and his younger brother Rodney.