The spread of a sickness bug among patients at hospitals throughout Worcestershire appears to be slowing as more wards have re-opened for admissions.

Elective and pre-planned surgery has been cancelled at Worcestershire Royal and the Alexandra Hospital for more than a week and some operations were also cancelled at Kidderminster, where one ward was closed to admissions.

Today, only nine of the 14 wards closed to admissions last week at the three hospitals were still refusing to take new patients.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust spokesman Janet-Marie Clarke said elective surgery at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital had been cancelled to help prevent the spread of the infectious stomach bug Norovirus which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

Four operations were cancelled at Kidderminster Hospital although health officials said that it had not been so badly hit.

The number of patients affected by the virus rose to 135 at the weekend but this has since started to fall.

Health chiefs believe this is because people have heeded their advice and refrained from visiting family and friends in hospitals.