The coronavirus test site at Himley Hall and Park will move to Kingswinford as council bosses try to make the site more accessible for the Christmas break.

The drive-through site has been operating seven days a week, but Dudley Council health chiefs are keen to make sure the park is open and accessible for people taking walks or trying out new presents over the Christmas period.

The site will instead be moved to Dudley and Kingswinford Rugby Club in Swindon Road, from December 24-28. Councillor Nicolas Barlow, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said:

"We also recognise that Himley has always been a very popular destination for people walking and trying out new bikes and toys they have had for Christmas and we want to support that tradition as much as possible.

Testing is such a vital part of tackling this virus and we have been working hard to make sure we have plenty of test centres across the borough. We have therefore decided to move the test centre from Himley to Kingswinford until at least December 28.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank people for their patience during these challenging times and rest assured we are doing all we can to support local people."

The site is one of four testing sites in the borough. The others, which are walk-through test centres, are on Flood Street car park (off Oakeywell Street) in Dudley and on Jackson Street car park in Lye. There is also a drive through mobile test site at Engine Lane, Brierley Hill.

There will continue to be reduced car parking at Himley, while the test site is operational, and some areas are inaccessible to leisure visitors, but it’s vital the council does what it can to stop the spread of the virus and key to this is people getting tested if they have any of the symptoms.

If people have coronavirus symptoms they should contact the NHS Test and Trace service as soon as possible to book an appointment by calling 119 or visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus.