The Accident & Emergency ward at one of Britain's largest hospitals has been forced to close over fears that staff shortages will put lives at risk.

According to The Daily Mail, the maternity ward has also closed at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.

It's claimed that the hospital serves more than a million people in south London, but has been forced to close after experts in nurse manager jobs said a shortage of A&E doctors meant the unit would not be able to cope with the surge in admissions over winter.

The news that many casualty wards are operating with fewer than half the number of doctors they need in order to cope with increasing demand has led to warnings that other trusts might have to follow suit.

"On average, A&E units are staffed by just four doctors and they admit 75,000 patients in a year," said John Heyworth president of the College of Emergency Medicine. "They are far too overstretched... We desperately need more doctors in A&E to ensure departments are run safely."

The closure hangs on fears that a seasonal surge in patients suffering from flu, chest infections and norovirus, which spread over the winter, will strain the already over-stretched resources at Queen Mary's.

Christ Streather, chief executive of the South London Healthcare Trust, said he asked the medical director and the director of nursing whether both wards are safe to remain open, but he was advised that they aren't.

"The reason why we can't guarantee safety over the winter is the shortage of staff," added Mr Streather.