A serious viral outbreak at an Oxford hospital has increased pressures on the county health system.

Beds at the John Radcliffe and the Horton, Banbury, are full after a ward at the Radcliffe Infirmary, in Oxford, was closed because of gastroenteritis.

Patients and nurses were affected by the virus, which can lead to diarrhoea and vomiting.

The illness caused a domino effect at Oxfordshire's major hospitals because patients waiting to be transferred to the infirmary had to be kept at the hospital.

Helen Peggs, spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust, said: "There has been an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis at the Radcliffe Infirmary which means a number of beds have had to be closed.

"Medical patients who would have normally been discharged from the JR and transferred to the RI are being kept at the JR as a result and the infection control team and management are monitoring the situation.

"We have to leave a period of time between the outbreak and new patients being admitted, just in case the infection is still on the ward. And staff on that ward can't work elsewhere, in case they are carrying the virus. We have to take this very seriously."

Ms Peggs said she could not confirm how many people had been affected, or which ward had been infected. She added that no one was seriously ill.

The outbreak meant GPs across the county were warned on Sunday morning that there were no medical, surgical or trauma beds at the John Radcliffe or The Horton.

The situation continued yesterday afternoon and the casualty department was again placed on red alert.

Ms Peggs said the John Radcliffe had now started the four-county escalation policy. She said: "This means patients on Oxfordshire's borders who have an ambulance will go to neighbouring hospitals.