Admissions to a ward at Accrington Victoria Hospital have been suspended after the discovery of asbestos.

Admissions to Ward 2 have been stopped after maintenance workers made the discovery in the basement plant room following a heating failure.

Hospital bosses said the asbestos is contained and ‘poses no risks to staff or patients’.

John Bannister, director of Operations for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Following the failure of the heating on Ward 2 at Accrington Victoria Hospital an assessment of the system was carried out.

“The presence of asbestos was found in the plant room which is located in the basement of the site.

“The asbestos is safely contained within the plant room area and poses no risk to staff or patients.

“However, we have taken steps to temporarily suspend admissions to the ward in anticipation of the necessity to carry out essential repair work.

“All other services such as the Minor Injury Unit and the GP practice remain unaffected and continue to operate as normal.”