A primary school near the Powys-Shropshire border is closed for at least a week following confirmation of several coronavirus cases.

Minsterley Primary School is shut due to the numbers of staff needing to self-isolate, affecting the school’s ability to operate safely.

Staff and parents have been told to use additional lateral flow tests for seven days from today (Wednesday).

Shropshire Council’s Community Reassurance Team will be based at the primary school from 10.30am to 2.30pm on Thursday (June 24) to hand out testing kits to staff, parents and the public.

The Council said it is working with Public Health England (West Midlands) following confirmation of a small number of Covid-19 cases linked to the village school.

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire Council’s director of public health, said: "As elsewhere in the country we have seen a steady increase in cases, mainly of the Delta variant, across Shropshire, and local outbreaks such as this are not unexpected during a pandemic.

“Contact tracing is underway and if anyone is identified as a contact of a confirmed case of Covid-19, a contact advisor from NHS Test and Trace will be in touch with appropriate advice.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England: this is another reminder for people to follow the current COVID-19 guidelines to help prevent the spread of the virus.”

The outbreak follows a significant increase in cases in the county over the last month due to the Delta variant, first identified in India.