A new 500-body coronavirus morgue outside Great Western Hospital will be operational from next week, Wiltshire Council has said.

The mortuary is being built to hold the bodies of those who die having tested positive of coronavirus.

Bodies will be held in the temperature-controlled facility for up to 28 days before they are released to funeral directors and families.

The building is being constructed on a staff car park at the Swindon hospital, but the project is led by Wiltshire Council.

Last week, council chief executives Alistair Cunningham and Terence Herbert, said: “Wiltshire Council is working closely with partners including the Coroner, Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Police, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury District Hospital and the Army should the impact of the pandemic become more severe.”