A SIXTH person has died from a listeria infection after eating NHS sandwiches, Public Health England (PHE) has said.

Public health officials are continuing to investigate whether more people have died at dozens of trusts.

The Advertiser previously reported that the hospital trust running Redditch's Alexandra Hospital was named in the Listeria outbreak, which has seen a number of deaths.

At the time the trust was quick to point out that it had not had any cases of Listeria reported in any of its hospitals, which includes Kidderminster Hospital, and the Worcestershire Royal.

Eight hospitals in seven NHS trusts have reported cases of listeria linked to pre-packed sandwiches and salads eaten by patients.

The list includes Leicester Royal Infirmary and two hospitals in Western Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, along with hospitals in Liverpool, Manchester and Wexham.

In June, public health officials said five seriously ill patients had died, and nine more were infected, after eating food which contained the deadly bacteria listeria.

They have today (Thursday) confirmed that one of the nine patients infected has now died.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust, which manages the Alex Hospital, has been named as one of the trusts which had food supplied by The Good Food Chain.

Public Health England has said the health risk to the public remains low, and individuals should only seek medical attention if they develop symptoms.

Previously Vicky Morris, chief nursing officer of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are one of a number of NHS trusts which received pre-packed sandwiches supplied by the Good Food Chain.

"However, we have not had any cases of Listeria reported in our hospitals. As soon as we were alerted to the outbreak at another hospital, we immediately withdrew all sandwiches from this supplier."

Listeria is a bug that can cause an illness like the flu.

It can be dangerous for a number of groups including pregnant women, unborn babies and new babies and people who are unwell.