A BOURNEMOUTH hotel has closed following a rise in cases of a vomiting bug.

Management at the Heathlands Hotel, in Grove Road, took the decision in a bid to stop the sickness and diarrhoea bug spreading.

A fog disinfection is being carried out at the 130-bedroom hotel after guests started falling ill last week, a Bournemouth Borough Council spokeswoman said.

Test results for norovirus would not be back for two or three weeks, the spokesman added.

Staff at the Heathlands, which is owned by Britannia Hotels, declined to comment on the move yesterday.

There were just two cars in the car park yesterday, a sunny day at the start of the tourist season.

A couple of guests were sitting outside on the lawn, but otherwise the hotel was dark and quiet.

It is understood many of the hotel’s guests had been elderly people arriving on coach trips.

The council did not have a record of the number of reported cases.

The Heathlands is the third central Bournemouth hotel to have been affected by a sickness bug in recent weeks. Initially, there were 22 people with diarrhoea and vomiting.

Two or three cases have been reported at the Carlton Hotel in Meyrick Road and the Suncliff Hotel in East Overcliff Drive.

The norovirus is the most common stomach bug in the UK and is highly contagious. Most people make a full recovery in a couple of days.

Although it is commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, it can be caught at any time of year.

People with the symptoms are urged to drink plenty of water, take paracetamol for aches and pains and stay at home rather than go to a doctor. They should contact a GP if symptoms last longer than a few days, or if they already have a serious illness.