RESIDENTS in Basingstoke looking for a coronavirus test face a 150-mile round trip to the nearest centre with availability in the next week.

People across the country have had problems in recent days trying to book antigen tests, which tell you whether you have Covid-19 at the time of the test.

Now, residents in Basingstoke face a 75-mile journey to their nearest drive through testing centre.

A search on the government's testing portal for the postcode of the Gazette office in Houndmills, carried out on Tuesday lunchtime reveals that the nearest place to get a test should you have symptoms in the next five days is the Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London.

Basingstoke Gazette:

The message Basingstoke residents will be greeted with.

The centre is 52 miles away from Basingstoke as the crow flies, but driving to the centre via the M25, the quickest route currently according to Google Maps, would take 1 hour and 30 minutes and be a round trip of 150 miles.

However, that distance could be even further later today, as the website shows that just one test is available in the next five days.

Now a senior official at NHS Test and Trace has issued an apology on Twitter to residents unable to book a test.

Sarah-Jane Marsh, director of testing and NHS Test and Trace, said: "Can I please offer my heartfelt apologies to anyone who cannot get a COVID test at present.

"All of our testing sites have capacity, which is why they don't look overcrowded, it's our laboratory processing that is the critical pinch-point. We are doing all we can to expand quickly."

She added: "We have additional NHS, Lighthouse, University and Partner Labs all due to open-up imminently and we are also expanding the use of non-laboratory based tests. The testing team work on this 18 hours a day, seven days a week. We recognise the country is depending on us."

As previously reported, a temporary testing centre was set up at Basingstoke's Leisure Park earlier this year, which was manned by the army.

Whilst that has since been taken down, The Gazette is aware of testing centres near Winchester, Reading and Farnborough.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS Test and Trace is working, our capacity is the highest it has ever been and our laboratories are processing more than a million tests a week.

“We are seeing a significant demand for tests but if you have symptoms we urge you to get tested. New booking slots and homes testing kits are made available daily and you can help protect yourself if you wash your hands, cover your face and make space.

“We are targeting testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, as well as prioritising at-risk groups and we recently announced new laboratory facilities and new technology to process results even faster.”