A British man who tested positive for Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been flown back to the UK.

The man, who is a health worker and has not been identified, landed at RAF Northolt before being transported to a specialist infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.

It is the first confirmed case of a UK national contracting Ebola during the most recent outbreak of the rare but deadly virus in DR Congo, which has so far led to more than 5,000 deaths.

Speaking earlier this week, a UK government spokesperson said there were “well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this” and that the risk to the public remains low.