Shepton Mallet's MP has praised the team at the Bath and West Showground vaccination centre following a visit at the end of last week.

More than 295,000 people in Somerset have received a coronavirus vaccine so far – equating to 30.5 per cent of the county's population, with 32.7 per cent of people in the Wells constituency, which is includes Shepton Mallet, having received at least one dose.

This means more than 35,000 people across the constituency are now vaccinated and MP for the area, James Heappey, said he is "delighted" and "proud" of the effort across Mendip.

He said: "I am delighted the vaccine rollout is going so well nationally and - of course - here in Somerset.

"Having spoken to leading GPs of the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) over the past few weeks, I know what a fantastic group effort it has been.

"I also visited the mass vaccination centre at the Bath and West Showground on Friday. It is such a well-organised centre and it is easy to see why this is going so well.

"This is our ticket to freedom, and I am so proud to be part of the Government delivering on this alongside the county council, PCNs, GPs and all the brilliant vaccination volunteers. The collaborative effort means we are world leading and long may it continue."

In its weekly data release, NHS England has published vaccination figures by constituency for the first time.

With the UK vaccination programme averaging more than 2.5 million doses a week, the Prime Minister aims to ensure every adult is offered a jab by the end of July.

More than 19 million people have received a vaccine so far, equivalent to one in three adults, including more than 1.7 million in the South West.

This is the third highest per capita, behind only the UAE and Israel. In addition, only two countries have administered more doses than the UK – China and the USA.

Invitations are now going out to those in priority groups five to nine. The latest figures show that two-thirds of those aged 65 to 69 have now been vaccinated and it has also been revealed that people aged 40 to 49 will be next in line to receive the Covid-19 jab.