'Devastated' owner of Kent nightclub linked to deadly meningitis outbreak was warned by health chiefs on Instagram

The "devastated" owner of the nightclub linked to the meningitis outbreak in Kent has revealed to GB News that health officials contacted her with an "unusual" warning via Instagram.

Louise Jones-Roberts, owner of club Chemistry, told Martin Daubney she was initially "taken aback" by the Government's method of messaging her over social media due to the nature and severity of the outbreak.

Despite originally finding the message "unusual", Mrs Jones-Roberts admitted: "Actually, I think it was quite intelligent [to message via Instagram]. It was somebody thinking on their feet, it was late afternoon on Sunday."

She added that, had the senior health official contacted her via email, it may not have been picked up until Monday.

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"We were able to start communicating to all of our followers across all of our social media platforms, to warn everybody of the symptoms, what to look out for and what to do."

The venue owner also revealed that one of her own staff saw the social media messages, and, following the advice, checked himself into a local hospital.

He has since been confirmed as one of the now 15 cases of meningitis in Kent and remains in hospital.

The outbreak has led to two deaths so far. Year 13 student Juliette, 18, has been named as one of the dead. Her family said they are "beyond devastated," and they have "no words to express their loss".

A student at the University of Kent has also died.

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