VISITING restrictions at Lewisham Hospital put in place to curb the spread of the winter vomiting bug have been lifted today.

Visitors had been turned away from the hospital since before Christmas to protect patients and staff from norovirus which has been plaguing the UK.

Anyone who has suffered from diarrhoea or vomiting in the last three days is still urged to not visit the hospital to avoid spreading the highly-contagious bug.

Director of Operations and Nursing at Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust Claire Champion said: “We would like to thank everyone who has cooperated with this restriction.

“We recognise the value of visiting to our patients and so the decision to restrict visitors was not taken lightly.

“However, we believe that acting quickly has enabled us to restrict the spread of the bug within the hospital and helped protect our patients, visitors and staff.”

Any sufferers are asked to stay at home and seek advice from a GP if symptoms last longer than a few days.

For more information on norovirus visit nhs.uk/conditions/Norovirus/Pages/Introduction.aspx