A Covid-19 testing push in Leek has seen more than 350 tests completed in the first day.

The push comes in response to an outbreak of over thirty cases, with many confirmed as the variant of concern first identified in, linked to three schools in the area.

Families with links to any school Leek are being urged to get a PCR test. Testing is available via the national testing centre available at Leek Britannia HQ, ST13 5RL until Saturday 12 June.

Appointments will need to be booked through the national site, skipping forward to the option: "My local council or health protection team has asked met to get a test, even though I do not have symptoms."

Extra testing has also been convened at St Edward's Church of England Academy and Leek High School, and will run until 3pm on Saturday (June 5). Walk-ins are available.

Already, more than 350 people have turned out to get tested and help stop the spread of the variant. Positive tests arising from these centres will be sent for genotyping to check if they are a variant of concern.

Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council Director for Health and Care said: "The turnout for testing has been tremendous so far, and just goes to show how seriously the people of Leek are taking this outbreak. We have seen a few queues outside our testing centres, so we're asking people to bear with us – our teams are working flat out to test as many people as they can, and I want to thank the public for their patience while we do this.

"With this variant, stopping it in its tracks is key, and that means getting a good idea of how many cases we are dealing with. Getting tested means we can discover if there are any more cases of Covid-19, and in particular more variant cases, and take steps to isolate and trace contacts.

"I would urge anyone who hasn't had a test yet to come along to one of the testing centres and get tested as soon as they can. The more people we test, the more we have an idea of how many cases there are in the town, and if any further steps need to be taken."

Testing is being targeted at:

- Families with links to Westwood College, St Edward's Middle School and Leek High School.

- Families with links to any Leek school

- People who attended The Three Horseshoes Country Inn & Spa, Blackshaw Moor between 24-26 May

- People who attended The Black Lion, Cheddleton between 22-23