Two children are undergoing tests for Ebola after they arrived in the UK from Africa, Public Health England has revealed.

The children, whose ages are unknown, are being tested in Newcastle for Ebola and malaria.

A spokesman for Public Health England in the North East said the pair are being tested as a precaution.

He said: "Due to uncertainty about where in Africa the children are from and when they arrived in the UK, as a precaution the children are being tested for Ebola and malaria.

"However the clinical and PHE risk assessment is that Ebola is unlikely.

"People who have been in contact with the children have been advised to continue as normal."

The test results are expected later on Friday, he added.

There have been more than 16,000 cases of Ebola since the current outbreak began, with a death toll in excess of 5,700 people. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been the countries worst affected by the virus.