EXTRA testing centres for coronavirus are coming online in Bury over the next week.

The former Radcliffe Pool site in Blackburn Street and the Metro Christian Centre, in Parkhills Road, are the locations for the appointment-only sites, say council bosses.

The Radcliffe site opens from tomorrow, October 1, and the Parkhills Road site, from Thursday, October 8.

Testing centres are already operational in the Mosses Centre and Chesham Fold in Bury and Whitefield.

Further sites are set to be opened in Prestwich and Ramsbottom in the near future.

Health leaders are advising residents to remember that only people with the symptoms of coronavirus should book a test.

These include having a high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.

The Mosses and Chesham Fold centres are open from 10am to 3pm, Mondays to Fridays.

Council officials have highlighted that the walk-through testing centre at Whitefield Library will close from this Friday and switch to an appointment-only service when it reopens on Thursday, October 8.

This will be open for longer - from 8am until 8pm, seven days a week - and bookable via the national portal.

The drive-through testing site at Waterfold Business Park is still available by appointment, which can be requested via the Bury Council website.

Appointments for the two new centres, to be open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, can be booked online at https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

Cllr Andrea Simpson, health cabinet member, said: “We are working hard to ensure that anyone from Bury that needs a test can get one, at a location close to where they live.

“With walk-through, drive-through, bookable and home tests now all available, local people have a number of options, and we are really pleased to have additional centres due to open in the north and the south of the borough very soon.

“Demand for testing remains high, so please only request a test if you have symptoms and, if you book an appointment that you decide you don’t need, please cancel it to free it up for someone else who needs a test.”

For the latest information on testing availability in Bury and further afield, visit: https://www.bury.gov.uk/coronavirus-testing or call 0161 253 5515, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays).