Healthcare regulators have branded hospitals in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells as weak.

For the third year running, the trust running Maidstone Hospital has been branded "weak" in an annual health check.

But the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust says the ratings system does not reflect improvements put in place since its safety record was heavily criticised after an investigation into deaths linked with the C-diff superbug, two years ago.

This week the Care Quality Commission published performance ratings for every healthcare trust in England.

In the south east region, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells (MTW) was one of only two trusts to be rated weak for quality of its services, along with the Royal West Sussex NHS Trust.