A Coronavirus testing station is to be set up in Grantham as part of efforts to reduce infection rates in Lincolnshire.

Work on the walk-through facility in South Kesteven District Council's Queen Elizabeth Park car park will start on Tuesday (Nov 24) and it is due to open the following Monday. It will form part of the national network of similar sites set up to improve access to testing and will be open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

The testing station will be available only to those who have Coronavirus symptoms and appointments must be booked in advance at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

Symptoms include a fever, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change in sense of taste and smell.

SKDC Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Annie Mason, said: "The testing station will be available for people throughout South Kesteven and further afield. It's very important to remember, however, that you cannot turn up and be tested without an appointment.

"Anyone who shows symptoms should self-isolate immediately and not go out other than to get a test. Anyone using the Queen Elizabeth Park testing station should walk, cycle or drive there - do not use a taxi or public transport. If that is not possible, please order a home test through the post.

"Testing is one of the keys to getting a grip on the pandemic and we've worked hard to make it as easy as possible for people to do that."

Cllr Mason urged residents to do all they could to keep infection rates down.

"There is a sense that some people are perhaps not taking the second lockdown as seriously as they should," she said. "As we go through winter, we will all need to keep up the social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings regardless of what happens on December 2 when the lockdown is due to end.

"By taking responsibility for our own health and wellbeing we are protecting the health of others."

The Queen Elizabeth Park car park will be closed while the testing station is in place.

SKDC Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations, Cllr Dr Peter Moseley, said: "While this may cause some inconvenience to our park users it is a price worth paying to be part of a national network that has a major role in the fight against Coronavirus.

"It is part of the drive to improve accessibility to Coronavirus testing for local communities, bearing in mind that not everyone has access to transport."

The latest information and guidance around Coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council's website at www.southkesteven.gov.uk