A Bristol hospital has received two new "bolt-on" wards to ease the pressure on its Accident and Emergency (A&E) department.

The new wards - known as pods - are expected to help move people through Bristol Royal Infirmary's A&E much faster.

They provide 60 new beds for the hospital - 30 available by this weekend and 30 by April - with half for people needing surgery and half for patients with breathing problems.

The pods were lifted into place by cranes and are made from steel, plastic and fibre glass.

They are marvellous - so new and clean Kathryn Eddy Staff nurse

Although they are temporary, they are designed to last for 60 years, and can only be identified as being different from outside the hospital.

Ben Bennett, General Manager of the hospital, told the BBC: "We are delighted with this new facility. We have had huge pressure on the department.

"With these new beds, we are creating more in-patient capacity.

"A&E is very tough. For two years it has been relentless and a very difficult place to work. This will help to make it better."

The pods are smaller than average wards, with new equipment, new bathrooms and more provision for privacy - including single rooms for those who need them.

Government guidelines

Kathryn Eddy, a staff nurse at the hospital, said: "You assume that being pre-fabricated, they would be shaky and trembling.

"But they are marvellous - so new and clean."

The announcement of the pods comes as 11 patients were forced to wait more than 12 hours on trolleys over the weekend.

This is longer than people should have to endure, according to government guidelines.