Part of a private hospital is off-limits following an asbestos leak.

Staff at Fawkham Manor Hospital in Longfield have taped off a stairwell and an office after a broken water pipe in the loft caused some flooding.

Ceiling tiles were damaged and a spokesman for the hospital confirmed that staff were working to isolate a quantity of the potentially deadly minerals as a result.

“While everyone hopes nothing like this will happen, we do have back-up plans and procedures for a number of issues,” they said.

“Staff put these into place admirably and we were able to not only deal with the water damage but also safely continue all planned operations and appointments in another part of the hospital.

“We’d like to thank staff and patients for their support.”

No appointments or operations have been cancelled and a contractor will be commissioned by the hospital to visit the Grade II listed building and deal with the asbestos.

The Health and Safety Executive's guide to asbestos in the workplace states that people should stop work immediately upon its discovery and carry out a risk assessment.

This helps determine if the work requires a licensed contractor.

BMI Healthcare spent £250,000 upgrading theatres, infrastructure, and rooms at Fawkham over Christmas after concerns were raised about hospital standards by the Care Quality Commission.

Inspectors visited the hospital in August and September last year and the CQC published its report in February.