An outbreak of a winter vomiting virus has hit Oxford - with four wards at the city's John Radcliffe Hospital closed to new patients.

About 50 patients and as many members of staff at the Headington hospital have been affected by the Norovirus outbreak.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said measures had been put into place to contain the outbreak, which started last week but which it believed had now been brought under control.

A spokesman said: "This type of virus is common in the winter, and spreads throughout the community."

"Transmission among current patients is almost over, and the trust expects the hospital to be free of the virus within a few days."

The trust is urging anyone with symptoms such as stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting to stay away from the hospital.

Some non-urgent operations have been cancelled.

Staff at the hospital who feel unwell are also being advised to stay off work until they are better.

The spokesman added: "The trust has plans which it follows to contain the spread of the virus, and, at the same time, to keep the hospital running as normally as possible."

Among measures to contain the outbreak have been regular deep cleans of wards, using strong disinfectants.

Caroline Swann, of Cutteslowe, Oxford, whose five-year-old son Tommy caught the bug said: "It's really nasty. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to last too long."