Students have been queuing for antibiotics after an outbreak of meningitis has so far killed two pupils in Kent.

A school pupil, who was in Year 13 at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, became the second student whose life was claimed by the outbreak when they died over the weekend. They are reported to have died on Saturday, while the other person who died attended the University of Kent.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that it had so far been notified of 13 cases with signs and symptoms of meningitis from Friday to Sunday in the Canterbury area.

Some students at the University of Kent are in hospital, while others have been given antibiotics, and long queues could be seen at the university Senate building on Monday morning as pupils waited for the drugs.

A local nightclub has said it has been contacted by officials to try to trace people who may be affected.

The specific strain of meningitis has not yet been identified. Meningococcal bacteria can cause serious illness, including inflammation of the lining of the brain and blood poisoning, which can rapidly lead to sepsis.