Greig Watson
Reporter, BBC News Online

A couple who run a Nottinghamshire pub have said putting on community events has helped them through the "toughest time we've known".

David and Nikki Murphy are landlords of It's Inn The Bank in Netherfield and have not let lockdown stop them helping customers.

Image source, Nikki Murphy

A Facebook group called the "Irregular Regulars" has hosted events such as keep fit, discos, karaoke, cookery lessons and awards night.

But they have also been delivering food to vulnerable regulars, phoning people who they had not seen recently, cooking meals for food banks and raising hundreds for charity with raffles.

Customer Stephen Swinn said: "Nothing is too much trouble. They have rung me up to ask if I need shopping doing.

"They've got hearts as big as buckets."

Image source, Nikki Murphy

Mr Murphy said: "We have a lot of single and vulnerable people and the pub is their only hub and during lockdown we wanted people to feel they were still part of everything.

"It's been great for us as well, the customers have been superb through what is the toughest time we've known.

"The support we have had through the Facebook page and in person has helped us through, it's been a two-way street."

Amy Orton
Local Democracy Reporter

Two Leicestershire MPs have revealed they will lobby the government to split the city from the county when the tier allocations are next reviewed.

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire and the representative for Melton, Alicia Kearns, said they lobbied government not to include their constituencies in tier three restrictions.

Both Melton and North West Leicestershire have seen their infection rates and confirmed cases drop.

In Melton, the seven-day infection rate up to 22 November was 250 per 100,000 people, down from 371 the week before, with 128 cases down from 190 in the same period.

North West Leicestershire recorded a rate of 279.9 - down from 393.8 - according to official figures, registering 290 cases of coronavirus.

In Leicester, rates are higher but they too have decreased - from 512.4 to 383.4 - with 1,358 confirmed cases. The average weekly rate for England was 202.4.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Bridgen (pictured) said: "If Leicestershire continues to be combined with Leicester with regard to the Covid risk, our constituents and businesses will start to lose hope of ever being released from the tier three restrictions."

Alicia Kearns added: "Although our rates are above the national average, and there's work to be done, they are far below Leicester city. This grouping cannot remain long-term."

Some areas of the county were included when the local lockdown for Leicester was originally announced in June, but neither Melton nor North West Leicestershire have ever been subject to these tougher restrictions.

Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby disagreed with the MPs, saying it is not practical to split the county as the virus "knows no boundaries".

He said: "If we want these new restrictions to work I don't see how you can split the city from the county."

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A Nottinghamshire health boss has said the county managed to "avert catastrophe" by increasing restrictions when Covid rates spiked last month.

Jonathan Gribbin, director of public health for Nottinghamshire County Council, praised the hard work of residents and said the gains had been "very hard won".

With lockdown due to end next week and the county set to enter tier three restrictions, he said this was not the time to "squander" those hard gains and urged people to stick to the measures in place.

Image source, PA Media

A briefing with local health bosses earlier on Friday heard the number of people being admitted to Nottinghamshire hospitals with Covid has gone down, along with the number of Covid-related deaths.

However, there are still significantly more people in hospital with the virus than during the first peak in April.

Dr Andy Haynes, the executive lead with the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System, said the local NHS is ready to start administering a vaccine once one is approved by regulators.

It has taken on 214 new members of staff to work on the vaccination programme that will aim to administer 80,000 Covid vaccines a week.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A man has been charged with attempted murder after an attack left a woman in hospital where she remains with serious injuries.

Nottinghamshire Police were called to a house in Tunnel Road, Retford, on Tuesday after a call from neighbours who heard a woman screaming in pain.

The 30-year-old man, of Retford, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court earlier.

He was remanded into custody to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on 6 January.

Image source, Google

Nottinghamshire club captain Steven Mullaney has signed a new deal to run until the end of the 2023 season.

Leicestershire seamer Will Davis signs a contract extension for the 2021 season.

Some residents say the decision will affect livelihoods, with one describing it as heartbreaking.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday one way areas could ensure they quickly moved out of tier three was with mass community testing.

The MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston Neil O'Brien said he is pushing for a roll-out of mass Covid testing as soon as possible across the district and beyond.

Part of his constituency was previously in tier one before the national lockdown, while Oadby and Wigston is currently in the top 10 in England for high infection rates.

Image source, UK Parliament

"We have already got a bit of access to testing but the question is really how much more of it we can get and how quickly," said Mr O'Brien.

"That's what I'm taking up with the health secretary and talking to him about, trying to see how quickly we can get that moving."

East Midlands Today

Business leaders in the region worry they'll miss crucial Christmas trade after most areas were placed in the highest level of restrictions when national lockdown ends.

It means serious restrictions on the hospitality industry at typically one of their busiest times.

Chris Hobson, from the East Midlands Chamber, said: "Businesses need time to plan, they need time to order stock, they need time to talk to staff, to talk to customers.

"We need much greater clarity and much clearer timescales from government in terms of decisions being made so people can try and charge back out of this."

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Communities secretary and Newark MP Robert Jenrick has said "there will be a meaningful review" of the tiers allocation next month.

He said some areas could see their restrictions change before Christmas.

Hugh Casswell
Political reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

Council leaders had a ministerial briefing yesterday in which they were told it's very unlikely Nottinghamshire will come out of tier three when the allocation of tiers are reviewed on 16 December.

It is more likely that will be in the new year.

One leader described the review to me as "negligible".

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

The leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council says there is a lot of "head scratching" among residents who have seen themselves move from tier one before the national lockdown into tier three.

Liberal Democrat Stuart Bray said: "Many of my residents are saying to me we have gone literally within a few weeks from the lowest tier to the highest tier.

"So there's a lot of head scratching going on among residents and a lot of disappointment as you would imagine."

Image source, Google

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Council leaders in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have complained about not being consulted over the new tier allocations for the counties.

Both found out yesterday they would be need to follow the strictest coronavirus regulations under the government's three-tier system.

Barry Lewis, the leader of Derbyshire County Council, said: "I'm fairly disappointed we've ended up in tier three.

"We had falling numbers, a decline in infections in the county and it really gave us hope we'd come out in tier two."

He also said he needs to understand the "disparity" between tiers two and three that allow gyms and hairdressers to open but not pubs and hotels.

The deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council said he was "deeply frustrated" to be in tier three as the area had also seen a decline in the rate of coronavirus infections.

Michael Payne said: "It obviously wasn't enough, from the government's perspective, to get us over the line."

He also wants urgent clarity on a potential route map out of tier three.

BBC Radio Derby

The owner of Derby Brewing Company, which has three pubs in the city, believes tier three will be the end for many Derbyshire businesses in the hospitality industry.

Pubs and restaurants - except those doing takeaways and delivery - will have to shut on Wednesday after the national lockdown ends and tier three measures come into effect.

Paul Harris says it just doesn't seem fair.

Image source, Google

"It's just appalling the way the government has handled it because they have made those businesses who are struggling spend money because they have told us we are reopening, then they have effectively left us in a lockdown," he said.

"It's like a separate lockdown just for hospitality which is just ridiculous."

The government says hospitality premises are places where infections are more likely to spread.

Gavin Bevis
BBC News

Local leaders in Nottingham have urged the government to make it clear how the area can exit tier three.

The whole of Nottinghamshire will be subject to the toughest coronavirus measures after the national lockdown ends on 2 December, with restrictions due to be reviewed two weeks later.

Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, said: "We need clarity on when and how our city will transition to tier two, as well as a guarantee to fix test and trace, and of proper financial support for businesses, self-employed people, and those who need to stay at home to self-isolate."

Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South, said ministers needed to explain "what criteria have to be met for us to move down into a lower tier when the situation is reviewed in a fortnight's time".

Meanwhile, Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen struck a note of optimism, saying: "I have no doubt that we will continue to drive down infection rates and be able to leave tier three and enter tier two very soon.

"The tiers are being reviewed every 14 days so the hope must be that we could be into tier two before Christmas."

BBC Weather

Today will be cold and mainly cloudy with fog lingering in places, which could be dense in some places this morning.

However, locally, some brightness is possible.

Image source, Curly Claire

Liam Barnes
BBC News

Oadby and Wigston has one of the 10 highest infection rates for coronavirus in England, new figures have shown.

The seven-day infection rates for the borough in the week up to 22 November is 413.9 per 100,000 people, which does represent a drop from 506.9 the previous week.

It comes on the day it was confirmed Leicestershire will enter the top tier of coronavirus restrictions once the England-wide lockdown is lifted on Wednesday.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Julia West, 69, from West Bridgford, was feeling downbeat about today's announcement.

She said: "I think it's disheartening that we're going back into tier three after we all did our bit to bring it down.

"I feel especially for the young people who need some sort of outlet."

Alan Beirne, 54, a pub kitchen worker who lives in Nottingham city centre, said: "I was hoping for tier two but expecting tier three.

"I'm not happy about it though. I work in a pub. I could have gone back in tier two."

East Midlands Today

In Leicester, Matt Boyles said he thought the move up to tier three will have surprised many.

"I think it's a bit of a shock for a lot of people because we'd been hoping for restrictions to be eased," he said.

"It will spoil Christmas for a lot of people - but then there'll be others who think it's a good thing. I think it's 50/50."

Odel Pittard, a trader at Leicester Market, said: "We all expected it to happen [tier three] but it's a shame really because business down here has been so bad through the lockdown and Leicester's never really gotten out of it."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Nottingham Trent University students Laura Puttock and Emme de Duve, are both due to turn 21 in December but the tier three announcement means they will have to rethink their party plans.

Laura (pictured left) said: "It's our last year of uni and we thought we could have a last celebration but now it's going to have to be a takeaway. It's hardly the 21st I'd dreamed of.

"It just feels like we've done our bit, cases are going down but we're still not seeing any change.

"You just get a bit more freedom in tier two. With uni being online I wake up, sit at a screen until my eyes go square and then go back to bed, all in the same room."

"Everyone was hanging on for this day to see if we were in tier two," said Emma.

"I think for people's mental health, just being able to go out the house and meet people not from your household is really important."