A TEMPORARY visiting restriction at the region's main hospital has been lifted after wards were cleared of the winter vomiting bug.

The limit of one hour a day had been brought in at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire as one of a string of measures to combat norovirus.

At one point 13 wards were closed to new admissions and hospital bosses praised the "Herculean" efforts of staff to beat the virus. But they warn it is still rife in the community and may return, meaning the restrictions could yet be re-introduced.

Helen Jenkinson, deputy director of infection control at the hospital, said: "I would also like to thank visitors who co-operated and only came to see their relatives and friends during the single visiting hour while we have been under severe pressure."