A COVID-19 testing site, forced to close after being targeted by vandals for a second time, is due to reopen today.

The facility at Fairlands Valley Showground in Stevenage has been vandalised twice in quick succession - once on December 21 and again sometime between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. On both occasions, the metal fencing around the toilets was pushed over, as were the toilets, and subsequently vandalised.

The testing site - forced to close as a result of the damage - is due to be operational again from today, following repair work.

Sharon Taylor, leader of Stevenage Borough Council, said: "Vandalism on this site is astonishingly mindless when we are trying to ensure the people of Stevenage and our surrounding areas have sufficient test facilities.

"These are vital to ensure our colleagues who are working so hard in the NHS are not overwhelmed, and also so we can process people’s tests as quickly as possible to ensure vital public services and our economy are able to keep going as we tackle this latest variant of COVID.

"This kind of senseless vandalism is shocking enough in normal times, but at a time when we are battling a pandemic, it is beyond comprehension."

Councillor Taylor says Stevenage police officers have been asked to increase nightly patrols in the area and Hertfordshire County Council is looking into additional security.

This testing facility is in addition to the COVID-19 walk-through testing site in Stevenage's Primett Road, to help deal with an increased number of cases locally.

As of January 2, there have been 18,578 cases of COVID-19 in Stevenage to date, according to the county council and, of these, 863 occurred in the last seven days.

As of December 31, the total number of COVID-19 deaths announced by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which runs Stevenage's Lister Hospital, is 590.

From today, like other NHS trusts across the country, the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust has heightened patient visiting restrictions across its hospital sites due to the increasing prevalence of COVID-19 in the community. Patients can now only have visitors in exceptional circumstances, such as if they are receiving end of life care.