Conversations about coronavirus restrictions between the government and council leaders across Yorkshire and the Humber region are "continuing", the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

Image source, Reuters/Toby Melville

Mr Johnson's comment came as he announced the government's new coronavirus tier alert system to MPs in the Commons.

People living in most parts of Yorkshire are now waiting to hear how the government will officially categorise their areas.

Downing Street said each local authority area will be placed in a local Covid alert level by the end of Monday, with a postcode checker also being launched on the government's website.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis said earlier that South Yorkshire was to be placed in Tier 2.

Tier 2 - which is a "high" alert level - is triggered when a rise in transmission cannot be contained through local responses.

Halifax's Ed Barber is found guilty of breaches of RFL rules with a tweet containing "unacceptable behaviour and language".

Most areas already under local coronavirus restrictions will be placed into "Tier 2" of the government's new alert level system, the Prime Minister has said.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Leeds are all currently subject to enhanced restrictions, including a ban on households mixing in some settings, external.

Mr Johnson said in the Commons a short time ago that most areas already affected by restrictions will be "automatically" placed into Tier 2 - which is a "high" alert level.

The three new alert levels are medium, high and very high.

Tier 2 will see a ban on households mixing indoors, with the "rule of six" applying to people outside.

The move is being made as the rules were "complex" to understand and enforce, Mr Johnson added.

Councils in Yorkshire will hear by the end of Monday which Covid alert level their areas will be subject to, Downing Street has said.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA Media

A few minutes ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke in the Commons outlining the government's new three-tier system.

It means each local authority will be given an alert level of either "medium", "high", or "very high".

Depending on the level, some areas will be subject to venue closures to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus.

A postcode checker will be launched on the government's website to advise people what guidance applies to their area.

Boris Johnson is due to announce a new "three-tier" Covid restrictions system for England. But what does it mean for people living in those areas?

The Prime Minister is to address Parliament at 15:30, setting out different rules for regions classified as being on "medium", "high" or "very high" alert:

It means places that are categorised as being in Tier 1 have fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 people. These areas get the minimum restrictions applied to them.

Tier 2 is triggered when a rise in transmission cannot be contained through local responses.

Mayor of Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, has already said South Yorkshire will be in this tier.

In Tier 2, Covid-19 cases are above 100 per 100,000 people.

In Tier 3, it means there has been a "significant" rise in transmission of the virus.

It's been hinted that Liverpool is expected to be in this tier.

The whole of South Yorkshire is to be placed in the second tier of a new Covid restrictions system set to be introduced in England, the mayor of the Sheffield City Region has said.

Image source, UK Parliament

Dan Jarvis wrote on Twitter saying that following a conversation with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the area was to be placed into Tier 2.

Tier 2 is triggered when coronavirus infections in a particular area rise above 100 per 100,000 population and can't be contained through local responses.

The Prime Minister is to address Parliament at 15:30, setting out different rules for regions classified as being on "medium", "high" or "very high" alert.

Mr Jarvis said: "We cannot afford this without additional support - otherwise we will languish in local restrictions with no clear way out.

"We've put a plan to [government] and are awaiting more details," he added.

Steampunk enthusiasts were out in force at the weekend for Haworth's annual Steampunk event.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Steampunk has been described as "nostalgia for what never was" and draws on a wide variety of influences, including sci-fi novelists HG Wells and Jules Verne and comics.

Over the weekend, fans of the genre descended on the Brontes' home village for the socially distanced event.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

People in York are being asked to check outbuildings and sheds as the search continues for a man who's now been missing for almost two weeks.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Joseph Cafferkey, 72, from Dijon Avenue, Acomb, has not been seen since lunchtime on Wednesday 30 September.

Police say it's known he visited his local Post Office at about 09:25 that day, and a worried neighbour reported him missing on Friday 2 October after he failed to attend a doctor’s appointment.

Mr Cafferkey's disappearance is described as being out of character, and his family and friends are becoming "increasingly concerned for his welfare", according to North Yorkshire Police.

It's thought Mr Cafferkey, who speaks with a strong Irish accent and is described as white, of medium build, with receding grey hair, doesn't have access to a mobile phone or money.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "Due to the colder conditions and heavy rain in recent days, this has increased the risk of being exposed to the elements if he has become unwell, fallen or lost while walking.

"We're asking everyone who lives in the Acomb, Holgate and Foxwood areas of York to check their gardens, sheds and outbuildings for any sign of Joseph."

Anyone who sees Mr Cafferkey is asked to contact police immediately.

A nine-year-old boy from Sheffield has announced plans to take on a third marathon after raising more than £150,000 with his first two efforts.

Earlier this year, Tobias Weller, who has cerebral palsy and autism, walked and ran marathons on the street where he lives in Sheffield using a walker and a specially designed running frame.

Also known as Captain Tobias, the youngster (pictured above) has now raised £150,030 for Sheffield Children's Hospital and the Paces special school he attends.

In a Twitter post, external, he thanked everyone who had donated and said he is planning to take on another marathon on his trike.

The NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate is one of three where staff are being asked to get ready to take patients, it's been confirmed.

Government advisers say hospital admissions are rising, with more elderly people needing urgent treatment for Covid.

More people are now in hospital with Covid than before coronavirus lockdown restrictions were announced in March.

It comes as a new three-tier system of lockdown rules for England is due to be announced later.

NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis says the hospital in Harrogate - as well as others in Manchester and Sunderland - is now being "mobilised" in case it's needed:

Police are trying to trace anyone who saw a teenager in the hour before he died after taking illegal drugs in York.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Josh Reeson, 15, was found in the Fulford area on 27 September and died later in hospital.

North Yorkshire Police said Josh and a friend, 14, left an address on Fulford Road at about 03:10 and walked towards the city centre, before doubling back onto Broadway West.

The teenagers then walked back to Fulford Road and met another friend, a 14-year-old girl, near the junction of Maple Grove,

Josh then became unwell and a relative of his friend called an ambulance and stayed with him until it arrived.

Officers want to speak to anyone who saw the teenagers between 03:00 and 04:00 and have also asked anyone driving in the area with dashcam footage to contact them.

Six people, aged between 14 and 37, arrested in connection with his death have been released pending further investigation.

Police say they're "concerned" for the welfare of a 17-year old girl who went missing from Morley in West Yorkshire at the weekend.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Mya Seehra was last seen at her home at 22:00 on Saturday.

She's described as Asian, 5ft 7ins tall, with brown shoulder length hair.

Anyone with information about the teenager's whereabouts is being urged to contact police.

Harrogate's Nightingale Hospital is one of three being told to prepare to take patients as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise, it's been confirmed.

Image source, NHS England/Simon Dewhurst

The 500-bed field hospital opened at the North Yorkshire town's convention centre in April in order to care for patients suffering from Covid-19.

A virtual ceremony involving fundraiser Captain Tom Moore was held to open the facility, the first of seven field hospitals built outside a city.

The site, along with Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester and Sunderland, has been asked to get ready for patients, according to NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis.

He says: "They are being asked to mobilise over the next few weeks to be ready to accept patients if necessary."

It will be for local clinicians to decide whether they are used for Covid patients or to provide extra capacity to maintain services for people without coronavirus.

Drivers are being told to avoid a major Hull road because of an ongoing police incident.

Image source, Google

Humberside Police says officers have had to close Holderness Road due to an incident close to the McDonald's.

A diversion is in place between Mount Pleasant and Barnsley Street to "ensure everyone's safety".

People are being asked to avoid the area to allow emergency services to work.

Nora Tait was bludgeoned to death at her home in Hexthorpe in 2005 after buying fish and chips.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis says he has been working with council leaders throughout the weekend to prepare for new local lockdown rules due to be announced later.

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A new "three-tier" system, which will classify regions as being on "medium", "high" or "very high" alert, is expected to be introduced.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee later today "to determine the final interventions" and will then announce changes in the Commons, before speaking at a Downing Street press conference at 18:00.

Mr Jarvis MP said he had met with Mr Johnson's chief strategic adviser Sir Edward Lister on Friday and had put together a "shopping list" of support needed in South Yorkshire in the event of tough new restrictions being introduced.

He said: "We're doing everything we possibly can to get ready for whatever is coming, but the truth is, at the moment, we are still waiting on confirmation from the government of what their intentions are for South Yorkshire.

"I think government have got to do everything they can to make sure areas like ours are properly supported, because if they do not the economic consequences will be devastating."

PA Media

Three arts venues in Yorkshire are among organisations struggling during the coronavirus pandemic set to receive a share of £257m of government funding.

Image source, Bowness/Hepworth Estate via YSP

According to the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, those to benefit from the cash injection include the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, which will receive £804,013 to adapt its buildings to new regulations.

The Brudenell Social Club music venue in Leeds is being given £220,429 to host a free weekly event as well as stream events.

Meanwhile, in Rotherham, literacy charity Grimm & Co is being awarded £86,000 to help provide support for children with creativity and writing.

Image source, Google

The latest survey from the Born in Bradford study shows the effect of lockdown on family finances and mental health.

The family of a South Yorkshire grandmother killed in her home 15-years ago are making a fresh appeal for information on the anniversary of her death.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Nora Tait, 69, of Stone Close Avenue in Hexthorpe, was bludgeoned to death at home on 12 October 2005 shortly after buying fish and chips.

A close friend found Nora’s body a day later, on October 13. Her fish and chip dinner lay untouched on the dining room table.

South Yorkshire Police described it as a "brutal attack for no apparent reason". Her killer was never found.

Police say they're taking advantage of advances in scientific techniques to re-examine evidence in Nora’s case for previously undetected traces of DNA.

Image source, Google

Nora’s family said: “Our mother, who was dearly loved by her friends, family and neighbours was murdered in her home on what could have only seemed like an ordinary day for her.

"Somebody knows something, has had or overhead a conversation relating to it, and is carrying this with them.

"It is time to do the right thing and help us close our mother’s case, and finally allow her to rest in peace.”

Anyone with information about the murder is being urged to contact South Yorkshire Police.

BBC Weather

A dull wet and cold day is expected with outbreaks of rain throughout.

Tonight the main front of cloud and rain will clear, but further spells of showery rain will follow on overnight: