THE Prime Minister got his hands dirty during his visit to Hereford County Hospital on Tuesday as he helped with plastering the walls of new hospital wards.

Boris Johnson was in Hereford on the same day the Government announced a £300million pot of money to help prepare hospitals' A&E departments for the winter pressures.

The £2million handed to the Wye Valley NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, was on top of a £23.6million boost in 2019 to build new wards at the site.

READ MORE: How the county hospital will benefit from new funding

The development will replaced the old hutted wards at the site, with temporary buildings in use for more than 75 years after the Second World War.

The new wards are expected to open in 2021.

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The three storey modular building, providing 72 new beds over three wards, is currently under construction.

The Prime Minister was taken on a tour of the building, where he turned his hand to plastering.

He also met members of staff from the Trust, who have been at the heart of the county's fight against coronavirus.