ONE hospital ward which was closed after an outbreak of a deadly diarrhoea bug was reopened to patients today.

A second ward closed yesterday at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells remained closed, following the outbreak of Clostridium Difficile (C-diff).

The wards were closed to new patients after the numbers of C-diff cases at the hospital reached 13 during January - making it officially an outbreak.

Seven patients are still being treated for the illness. Some have been isolated and barrier nursing and additional cleaning measures have been brought in.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said it would normally expect to see up to eight patients a month.

A trust spokesman said visitors to the hospital could help prevent the spread of infection by not visiting loved ones if they feel unwell; not sitting on hospital beds and washing their hands on entering and leaving wards.