FOUR patients in one hospital ward have been struck down with the deadly diarrhoea superbug Clostridium Difficile.

The patients, who were all on the same ward at Maidstone Hospital are now being nursed in isolation in side rooms and are recovering.

The ward they were all on has now been "deep cleaned" as a precautionary measure, bosses say.

The outbreak has triggered the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust's heightened infection control measures, which include emphasising strict handwashing and a range of advice for visitors.

The measures are brought in when there are two or more C-diff cases on the same ward at the same time.

* See Friday's Kent Messenger for the full story.