People have been turning up to coronavirus testing centres without appointments and allegedly hurling abuse at testing staff.

Hertfordshire County Council is urging for anyone wishing to get a coronavirus test, to go through the correct online booking procedures.

In a tweet, the county council said there have been “a number of incidents” at Hertfordshire testing sites with members of the public demanding to be tested without an appointment.

The tweet said: “Any form of abuse to testing staff will not be tolerated. If you need a test, you must book one at https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.”

Cabinet Member for Public Health and Prevention, Cllr Tim Hutchings said: “Please support our NHS colleagues by booking a test before arriving at a testing site.

"If you have symptoms of coronavirus, you must book a test appointment first at https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.

"Any abuse to staff at testing centres will not be tolerated, so please be kind to our key workers during these challenging times.”

This comes following reports of a national testing capacity shortage.

As a result, the coronavirus booking website often shows either no testing centres available or redirects people to sites outside their local area.

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Due to ongoing shortages, NHS England is urging to only get a test if you display any coronavirus symptoms or have been asked to get tested.

The NHS are reminding people to not use the service to get a test in order to travel to another country. Alternatively, those can pay for a private test.

If you have symptoms, you need to get a test as soon as possible and within the first five days of having symptoms.