Three new Covid Community Testing Centres opened their doors in Staffordshire this week – after the first case of the South African variant was identified in the county.

The centres in Gnosall, Stone and Eccleshall, together with the Kingston Centre in Stafford, will allow even more people to get tested and help stop the spread of the new variant, which was first identified in the Stafford borough.

Since the call went out for everyone who works or lives in the borough to get tested, more than 1,300 people were tested over the weekend and more than 3,500 also booked a test this week.

Dr Johnny McMahon, Staffordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing, said: "We continue to have a fantastic response and our message to people who live or work in the borough is to book a test if they haven't already.

"We now have four Community Testing Centres open and want to test as many people as possible over the next four weeks. This will help us identify any further cases of this more contagious variant and in turn help break the chain of infection."

The new Community Testing Centres for people with no symptoms are open seven days a week and are at The Kingston Centre, Stafford, The Grosvenor Centre, Gnosall, Stone Leisure Centre and Eccleshall Community Centre.

The nearest local testing centres, on the other hand, are at Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre, and Brough Park Leisure Centre in Leek.

The county council already offers community Covid testing for people across the county who need to be out during lockdown and has increased the capacity in the Stafford borough area after it was found that a resident tested positive for the South African variant earlier this year.

Patrick Farrington, Leader of Stafford Borough Council, said: "As a council, we are committed to doing everything we can to protect both lives and livelihoods.

"This means everyone in the borough staying at home as much as possible, sticking to the rules and getting tested to help us control the spread of infection.

"With four Community Testing Centres open across the borough getting tested has never been easier, and may just help protect the life of someone you care for."

People can book a test here. Anyone with symptoms should not get tested here and should instead book through the national portal.