A GP surgery has apologised to its elderly patients after they were left facing long queues through the streets to wait for flu and Covid-19 vaccinations.

Wymondham Medical Centre held a clinic for people over the age of 65 to get both jabs in one go.

The initiative proved extremely popular with patients, leading to long queues snaking through the town, with some people waiting for more than an hour.

Peter James, from Wymondham, was among some patients who chose to leave the queue altogether.

He said: "I had an 11-12 time slot and arrived at about 11.30 am. Parking close to the practice was not remotely possible, as cars were strewn about by the roads with resulting traffic chaos.

"I have never seen anything like it.

"Upon seeing and experiencing the length of the queue and witnessing the speed it was moving, I decided to abandon it altogether."

Another patient said: "It was absolute carnage. Elderly people were expected to wait in excess of an hour to an hour-and-a-half.

"There were queues everywhere."

A spokesman for NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: "We are very sorry that some people had to wait longer than expected when getting their flu and Covid-19 booster vaccinations at Wymondham Medical Practice at the weekend.

"The process of recording the vaccinations took longer than anticipated and, as a result, a long queue built up.

"The practice established a separate, faster queue indoors for people who were in difficulties due to the long wait.

"They apologised to those waiting and will be taking steps to avoid a similar event in future.

"We continue to thank patients for their understanding when attending for their booked appointments and ask that people bear with our teams during the roll out of these incredibly important vaccinations."

The clinic was held on Saturday, October 1.

The surgery is due to hold another session, for clinically vulnerable patients, on Saturday, October 15.

It comes after it was confirmed that all of Norfolk's large-scale Covid vaccination centres will close on December 31.