People sent to 'non-existent' Covid testing site in Sevenoaks

People with suspected Covid-19 symptoms have been sent to a testing site in Kent that does not exist.

The address in Sevenoaks had been listed on the government website, but "is not a test facility", the district council leader said.

Angie Waters, 67, drove to the site after booking a slot at 11:00 GMT. "It was an absolute fiasco," she said.

Kent County Council apologised and said it was trying to find out "what went wrong".

It said a mobile testing site was to be introduced by the Department for Health and Social Care due to a local rise in Covid-19 rates, but it had not yet arrived "for an unknown reason".

Mrs Waters, whose 74-year-old husband has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), booked a test after developing a cough.

"I thought to be on the safe side I'd better get tested, I don't want to put him at risk," she said.

When she arrived at the address in Otford Road she "noticed all these other cars" were "circling around" trying to find the site.

"It was just a joke," she said. "I spoke to one woman who said she had been going round for an hour."

Jon Waite said he drove to an appointment on Saturday and found "the site was non-existent".

Mr Waite, from Sevenoaks, said this was his second bad experience with the testing system, having previously been directed to the Isle of Wight or Birmingham Airport when he tried to book a test for his young son.

"I'm personally disillusioned with the whole test-and-trace programme," he added.

Councillor Peter Fleming, of Sevenoaks District Council, said on Twitter that the address in Otford Road had "been listed on the government website as a Covid test site", but added: "This is not the case, this site is not a test facility."

The Department for Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.