Free emergency dental clinics will be available in a Suffolk town to help people with severe dental pain.

Charity Dentaid will be in Leiston today, Wednesday, February 2, to help people with no other access to treatment.

The clinics will be available at the Waterloo Centre, in Waterloo Avenue, from 10am to 4pm and appointments are not needed.

Leiston has not had any NHS dental provision since it lost both its practices within 18 months.

Mark Jones, spokesperson for Toothless in England, said there was "desperate need" for NHS dentistry in Leiston.

He added: "There is extreme need.

"We are desperate. We need the commissioners and government and the chief dental officer to recognise there is a health emergency with dentistry across the country."

Jill Harding, communications director for Dentaid, said the charity was trying to "bridge the gap" for people in toothache who cannot access NHS dentistry now.

She added: "We will help as many people as we can. We cannot promise we can treat everyone."

The emergency dental clinic will return to Bury St Edmunds on Thursday, February 3.