Coronavirus: Long queues at 'empty' Sunderland test site

The drivers came but there was nobody to test them

More than 100 people waited in mile-long queue at a coronavirus testing centre only to find it empty.

They had booked appointments at the site in Sunderland but found no staff, tents or equipment there.

Some were turned away by security guards who said the computers had crashed and to try again later.

It happened on the day it was announced the region would be subject to tighter restrictions in an attempt to curb a rising number of cases.

The rules affect Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and the County Durham council areas.

Many drivers turning up to Doxford Park sat in their cars in the out-of-town business park not knowing what to do.

HGV mechanic Brad Cockburn, who had come 50 miles from Bedale in North Yorkshire for his test, criticised the lack of organisation and the "poor performance as usual".

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Verity Ward, who is pregnant, waited for more than an hour in the queue until other drivers told her there was a problem and she decided to leave.

"On the way back to join the A19 to come back to South Shields you could see more police cars stopping people from actually joining the queue to the test centre," she said.

It was "frustrating" since they were booked in to have a test and, given the area was already subject to enhanced support, expected the test would be available, she said.

Rob Reid, a 58-year-old cash and carry manager from Sunderland, said it looked like "the government is not that concerned, when they are taking bookings on the NHS website and there's nobody here to do it".