Pokémon Go players warned not to enter wards at Harrogate Hospital

The NHS Foundation Trust issued the advice on their Twitter Feed after seeing a recent increase of people hunting Pokémon at the hospital.

Despite allowing them to continue doing this, the hospital has urged players to be "respectful" whilst playing and insisted there is "absolutely no need" to enter wards or clinical areas.

The trust has also warned that users should not hunt inside the hospital unless they were already visiting for an appointment.

A hospital spokesperson said: "We've seen plenty of people hunting Pokémon at Harrogate District Hospital over the past few days.

"That's fine with us but if you're playing please remember that we're a busy hospital. Please be respectful and and watch where you're going!

"Take particular care outside near roads and on busy corridors.

"There is absolutely no need for any players to enter wards or other clinical areas, we need to put patients first and be really strict about this.

"Also please don't hunt here unless you were coming anyway for an appointment."

Pokémon Go allows users to roam a map using their phone's GPS location data and catch Pokemon to train and battle.

The game became a global phenomenon after being released in the US, Australia and Germany and was released in the UK on Thursday, July 14.

However, the game has already sparked a number of police warnings with some users playing the game and driving and others having their phones stolen.

Police have also warned users against advertising their phone to opportunistic criminals with a player calling Glousestershire Police after someone had "stolen their Pokémon".

The game does encourage people to walk around in order to catch Pokémon and the hospital have stressed the benefits of players "taking more exercise".

A spokesperson said: "We hope you enjoy spending time at the Pokéstops here - the gardens are lovely.

"Finally, enjoy collecting Pokémon. We're fully behind people walking more and taking more exercise."