Three hospital wards have been closed to new admissions following an outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea.

Patients on Newington, Baird and MacDonald wards at the Conquest Hospital in St Leonards are being treated for the highly infectious norovirus.

Hospital managers are assessing the situation daily and are hoping to reopen the wards as soon as they have been cleaned and all patients are symptom free.

People have been urged to help contain the spread of the virus by not visiting friends or relatives in hospital if they have symptoms of the bug themselves.