Three crew members have been taken to hospital after an outbreak of Covid on a ship docked at the Port of Felixstowe.

Public Health England has been notified of the cases and is working with port authorities while the vessel remains docked.

It is not clear how many crew members were onboard the ship when it arrived in Suffolk, but it has been confirmed that three symptomatic crew members who tested positive have been taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.

They are all in a stable condition.

The ship is being deep-cleaned before a new crew takes charge and the vessel sets sail again.

Ravikumar Balakrishnan, consultant in health protection at Public Health England East said: "A small number of positive cases have been identified within the crew onboard a working merchant vessel and they are self-isolating away from the ship.

"We are testing the remainder of the team at regular periods and monitoring their health as a precautionary measure.

"Three symptomatic crew members who tested positive were taken to Ipswich Hospital for further tests and treatment. Currently all three of them are in stable condition."

A spokesman for the Port of Felixstowe said: "We can confirm there has been a coronavirus outbreak on a vessel at the port.

"We are liaising with Public Health England and the ship's operator."