A MAJOR Somerset venue is set to become a mass Covid-19 vaccination centre by the end of this month.

NHS staff have been working at The Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet since December.

And the site is expected to be up and running to deliver inoculations in the next fortnight.

Rupert Cox, chief executive of the Royal Bath and West Society, which owns the showground, said: "We're really delighted to be involved.

"I suppose our frustrations are that we were having conversations with the NHS in early December and we thought we were going to be open last Monday.

"Now we're being told we're not going to be open for a couple of weeks. There's already a bit of slippage."

The restaurant will be used for registrations and volunteers who will give the vaccinations will be trained in the theatre

Bristol City's Ashton Gate stadium is one of seven mass vaccination centres opened across England today (Monday).