A care home has been lifted out of special measures after investing £100,000 in plugging staffing gaps with overseas workers.

Dorrington House, in Watton, was rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission in June and placed into special measures amid a range of safety concerns.

But, less than six months later it has seen its rating upgraded by the regulator after its owners moved quickly to address the concerns.

Steve Dorrington, who also runs homes in Dereham and Wells, said the company invested heavily in improving the Watton site, which includes spending £100,000 bringing in new care workers from India.

He said: "It is embarrassing for our families and our staff to be in special measures, but we did everything to make sure we did not stay that way for long.

"We put an action plan in place and followed it to the letter, meeting all the requirements and understanding the breaches."

Mr Dorrington said that he had brought in 30 new members of staff - although some of these work at his other homes - and had also invested in new medicine cabinets for the home.

He added: "We have done what is necessary - I agreed with many of the points the CQC made and invested accordingly.

"But I do also think that the CQC is carrying out inspections with no real consideration for the reality of the situation the care sector is in."

Mr Dorrington said the care sector was dealing with severe staff shortages and increasing demand - something he did not feel inspectors were sympathetic enough towards when handing out ratings.

The latest inspection, which was carried out in August, saw the Watton home upgraded to 'requires improvement' overall.

It did, however, receive ratings of 'good' in two key areas - caring and responsiveness.

The report reads: "The provider was open and honest in their response to our findings and promptly put actions in place.

"They demonstrated a commitment to working in partnership with other key stakeholders and keeping CQC informed.

"Feedback from people who used the service, their relatives and staff, was positive about the changes made since the last inspection."