The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the south west.

The patient, from Gloucestershire, is one of three new cases to be confirmed today.

It brings the total of cases in the UK to 23.

As of 9am today, a total of 10,483 people have been tested in the UK, of which 10,460 were confirmed negative and 23 positive.

The Department of Health and Social Care made the announcement in its daily 2pm bulletin.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that two of the newly-confirmed patients had recently returned from Italy, while the other had come back from Asia.

The other cases are in Hertfordshire and Berkshire.

The news comes a day after it was revealed that a man from Surrey had become the first person to be infected with coronavirus from within the UK.

He had not been abroad recently, unlike the other cases so far, and health officials are still trying to identify the source.

Public health advice is to regularly wash hands with warm water to prevent the spread of the virus.

Symptoms begin with a fever, followed by a dry cough, which after around a week can lead to a shortness of breath, with some patients needing hospital treatment.