Stomach bug hits three hospitals

A stomach bug has forced the closure of beds and hit more than 170 patients and staff at three Northern Ireland hospitals, it emerged tonight.

The gastroenteritis outbreak has caused sickness and diarrhoea on the wards in Belfast and in Co Antrim.

The worst-affected was the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald on the eastern outskirts of the city, where 76 patients and 43 staff have been struck down.

Fourteen beds there were also closed due to the alert.

Other cases have also been reported at Antrim Area Hospital and at the Braid Valley Hospital 10 miles away in Ballymena.