A hospital trust has been ranked as the worst in the country for meeting target wait times for A&E patients.

Almost one in three accident and emergency patients at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, which serves much of the Epping Forest area, had to wait more than four hours to be treated.

Statistics released as part of a BBC study showed the hospital is only seeing 70.3 per cent of its accident and emergency patients within the national four-hour target time.

The figure was the worst across any of the 134 health trusts in England and way below both the national average of 89.7 per cent and the national target of 95 per cent.

The last time the hospital’s A&E unit was meeting targets for attending to patients within four hours was May 2015.

Princess Alexandra was placed into special measures in October 2016 after a damning report by healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

At the time, inspectors said staff shortages had left wards “struggling to cope” and rated emergency services at the site “inadequate”.

The hospital is run by the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust, which also manages a variety of non-emergency care services at St Margaret's Hospital in Epping.

Despite issues surround A&E services, the trust is meeting both the national targets to treat 85 per cent of cancer patients within 62 days and carry out 92 per cent of planned operations within 18 weeks.

The Guardian Series has contacted Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust for comment.