Pauline Cafferkey has been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery having spent three weeks battling the disease in an isolation unit

A British nurse who contracted Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone used classical music and The Archers to help speed her recovery, it has emerged.

Pauline Cafferkey says the iPad she was given in hospital was a 'lifeline' while she recovered from the potentially deadly disease, as she used it to keep her morale up.

On the ward she listened to Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt and the popular Radio 4 soap - and restored her energies with Irn Bru and Sugar Puffs.

Ms Cafferkey was fighting for her life for more than three weeks in the Royal Free Hospital in London after testing positive for the deadly virus upon her return to her native Glasgow.

The 39-year-old health worker had been volunteering in an Ebola treatment centre in Kerry Town when she became exposed to the disease which has claimed more than 8,000 lives.

After undergoing experimental treatment using blood cells from another nurse to have recovered from the virus, Ms Cafferkey was released from hospital yesterday.

She credited staff at the hospital's high level isolation unit for her life, adding that 'lots' of Irn Bru had also 'helped her through'.

'I am just happy to be alive. I still don't feel 100 per cent, I feel quite weak, but I'm looking forward to going home,' the health worker said on her departure.

'I want to say a big thank you to the staff who treated me - they were amazing. They were always very reassuring and I knew I was in the best hands. They saved my life.'

Ms Cafferkey has spoken of her relief at being able to listen to music thanks to the gift of a tablet computer - one of the few bright spots as she struggled with the illness.

'I was given an iPad by the Royal Free Charity and that was like a lifeline for me - I don't know what I would have done without it,' she told Scotland on Sunday.

'My concentration was pretty poor as I recovered, so I was just using it for short periods. It let me listen to music and that was the main thing.

'I listened to a lot of happy music and the pharmacists put together a playlist for me. I don't remember exactly what was on it but it helped.'

She said she knew she was on the road to recovery when she regained enough strength to pick up her iPad and use it herself for the first time

'The past week or so I've started to get into a daily routine which has helped me settle down and helped me stop getting frustrated,' Ms Cafferkey added.

'I had a favourite piece of classical music, which is Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg, that I'd do my stretches to, then I'd get my blood tested while listening to The Archers, then I would go to sleep for an hour.'

The 39-year-old contracted the disease while volunteering at a Save the Children treatment centre in Kerry Town, Sierra Leone

Asked whether there was a point at which she thought she might not make it, she said: ‘There was a point which I remember clearly saying, I don’t remember which doctors were with me, but I do remember saying ‘that’s it, I’ve had enough’.’

Recalling the progress of her illness, she said: ‘The first few days I was very strong and felt absolutely fine. Then day three or four I did start to get symptoms and things, and then I started deteriorating.

‘I pretty much lost a week of my life that I just can’t remember. I remember having a discussion with my sister, because we had to speak via telephone because I was in a tent, and I was saying "oh that’s me been here a week now" and she was saying "no you’ve been here two weeks", and I was saying "no, it’s a week I’ve been here", and then just realising I’ve lost a week of my life at some point.’

Asked how the experience has changed her perspective on life, she said: ‘Many people would say "I’m going to go out there and live life now" but I was doing a pretty job at that before all this.’

Though she has no immediate plans to return to Sierra Leone, Ms Cafferkey said she wouldn't rule out returning to the poverty and disease-stricken country in the future.

'I’ll be having a break from aid work and I’ve no plans to return to it at the moment, but who knows in the future?’

The nurse is pictured with Dr Michael Jacobs, who led the team treating her for Ebola

She continued: ‘Thanks to Dr Mike and his amazing team of doctors, the matron, the nurses and all the other people that I didn’t meet working behind the scenes to keep things going.

‘I’m definitely going to keep in touch, I’ve got a strong bond with the place and I’ll be sad to leave but I want to go home.’

Dr Michael Jacobs who led the team overseeing her recovery said he was 'very proud' of the staff's handling of her case.

'We are delighted that Pauline has recovered and is now well enough to go home. I am very proud of the staff who have been caring for her.

'It is because of the skill and hard work of the entire team that she is now able to go home.'

There was a point when I remember saying: "I've had enough"

Save The Children has launched an investigation came to be infected Ms Cafferkey but admits they may never know how the virus entered her system.

Its chief executive Justin Forsyth today said: ‘We are delighted for Pauline Cafferkey and her family that she has fully recovered from Ebola. Pauline is a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly and selflessly in the fight against Ebola.

‘Despite the risks to her own safety, she volunteered to use her nursing skills to help save lives and treat those in dire need in Sierra Leone. The bravery of Pauline and everyone who has worked to defeat Ebola makes us even more determined to redouble our efforts to beat the disease.’

Meanwhile First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘I am delighted to hear that Pauline Cafferkey has now been discharged from hospital.

'Ebola is a terrible disease, and the fact that she has made this recovery is a tremendous tribute to the work of the NHS staff who have been committed to her care over the last few weeks. '

Ms Cafferkey spent more than three weeks in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London (above)

The Royal Free is designated as Britain's main centre for treating victims of the Ebola virus

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt added: ‘I am delighted that Pauline Cafferkey has been discharged from hospital and can now return home. Her selflessness and courage are remarkable and she represents the very best of NHS values.

‘I would like to thank all the staff at the Royal Free who have worked tirelessly to provide her with world class care and treatment.’

Following Ms Cafferkey's diagnosis in December critics slammed procedures at Heathrow Airport where the nurse was allowed to board a flight to Glasgow despite complaining of a temperature.

Within hours of landing, Ms Cafferkey was rushed to Gartnavel Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Free in a military aircraft.

Following her diagnosis authorities frantically tried to hunt down the dozens of people she may have come into contact with at the airport and on board flights from Sierra Leone to Casablanca and London to Glasgow.

Anyone on board the aircraft was urged to seek medical treatment as soon as possible, with an estimated 32 people having already left the UK by the time Ms Cafferkey's condition became known.

After being admitted to the Royal Free Hospital on December 30, concern grew for the nurse's life as doctors revealed her condition had deteriorated.

The lack of wonder drug ZMapp which aided the recovery of several others to have been infected, was among factors making her chance of recovery ever more slight.

While in hospital she was treated with convalescent plasma taken from the blood of recovered European patients and the experimental anti-viral drug ZMabb, which is not the same as ZMapp, which was used to treat William Pooley - a British nurse who recovered from the disease in August.

Mr Pooley was the first British person to test positive for the disease in Africa. He was hurriedly removed from Sierra Leone following his diagnosis in August and recovered in time to deliver a heart wrenching speech released on Christmas Day.

The 29-year-old, who has since returned to the disease-stricken country to help treat sufferers, described Ebola as 'a global problem' which 'will take the world to fix'.