The UK's coronavirus alert level is being lowered from four to three on the advice of experts.

Image source, PA Media

The chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales said the decision to downgrade was thanks to the efforts of the UK public in bringing Covid rates down.

Cases, hospitalisations and deaths have all decreased.

Although the virus is still in general circulation, transmission is no longer high or rising exponentially.

And vaccines are having the desired protective effect.

A statement from the chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as well as NHS England national medical director Stephen Powys said: "Thanks to the efforts of the UK public in social distancing, and the impact we are starting to see from the vaccination programme, case numbers, deaths and Covid hospital pressures have fallen consistently.

"However Covid is still circulating, with people catching and spreading the virus every day so we all need to continue to be vigilant. This remains a major pandemic globally.

"It is very important that we all continue to follow the guidance closely and everyone gets both doses of the vaccine when they are offered it."

BBC Weather

Widespread showers will develop throughout the day, becoming less frequent towards dusk.

Winds will be moderate to fresh.

This evening showers will ease to leave a dry night with clear spells. Winds will also lessen, becoming gentle.

Elliott List's header ensures Stevenage finish the season with a 1-0 win at Scunthorpe United.

Cambridge United secure promotion to League One with a straightforward win over already-relegated Grimsby Town.

Marc Jones retains his role as Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner.

More counting is taking place in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner election.

None of the candidates reached the magic 50% of first preference votes.

It now appears Conservative Jonathan Evison, who joined the campaign at short notice, and Labour's Keith Hunter, who was the PCC before the election, will face second choice votes to decide who wins.

Here's what we know so far:

Conservative Marc Jones has been re-elected as Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner with big increase in his majority.

Image source, LDRS

Mr Jones, a former Lincoln councillor, won from the first round of counting with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout.

The Conservative vote increased by just under 25% from Mr Jones' election in 2016.

He was more than 60,000 votes ahead of second placed Rosanne Kirk of Labour, who polled 34,310 votes.

The PCC, who will be in position for three years, oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables.

The full results were:

Marc Jones (Conservative) 102,813

Rosanne Kirk (Labour) 34,310

Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) 10,172

David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) 18,375

Peter Escreet (Reform UK) 6,101

Sarah Sanderson
Political Reporter East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Counting has started at the Bridlington Spa for the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner election, with the result expected later this afternoon.

Turnout is 22.92% overall, ranging from 21.3% in East Riding of Yorkshire to 25.15% in North East Lincolnshire.

The election was originally meant to take place in May 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.

You can read about the candidates here.

Conservatives increase their seats in North East Lincolnshire as Labour hold Hull City Council.

The Tories and Labour keep control despite losses, and one county seat is decided by just two votes.

Here's the latest from North East Lincolnshire following confirmation the council there will continue under Conservative control after all Thursday's votes were counted:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Lincolnshire's director of public health has been explaining how people have been kept Covid-safe at local election counts.

Image source, Lincoln Council

Professor Derek Ward said: "We’ve been working with chief executives and returning officers to make sure we give specialist advice to all of our colleagues in the council and Police and Crime Commissioner elections, so that they were absolutely clear on what and how to run a Covid-secure election,"

He added: "We’ve given action cards to each polling station, advice about how they can maintain social distancing and minimise any risks."

Professor Ward is on call over the weekend if there are any coronavirus election issues and his colleague, Andy Fox, Assistant Director of Public Health, was on call last night.

Returning Officer Angela Andrews, told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "We’ve been planning this for a long time, we’ve had weekly meetings on this since December of last year."

To comply with the government’s Covid-19 guidelines, all counters and staff have worn face coverings and took necessary precautions at all local elections.

North East Lincolnshire Council continues under Conservative control after all Thursday's votes were counted.

The Conservative Party holds the authority with 31 seats, followed by Labour with eight seats and the Liberal Democrats with three:

Overall in this election, the Conservatives gained eight seats, with Labour losing seven seats and the Liberal Democrats losing one seat.

The turnout was 26.54% of the electorate, an increase on a previously reported figure of 24.9%, the council said.

Figures for the turnout in Thursday's elections in the Humber region have been published and they hover around the 21-25% mark, according to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The figures cover both the council elections for the East Riding, Hull, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire and the election for the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner role:

Yesterday, people in Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and across the Humber region had the opportunitiy to vote for their next police and crime commissioner (PCC).

The results of those elections are due later today and across the weekend, with the South Yorkshire election result expected on Monday.

A PCC is not a serving member of the local force but they are voted for, by the public, to hold the police forces and in some cases fire services to account.

Jacob Tomlinson explains more:

League Two clubs Southend United and Grimsby Town submit a proposal for their relegation to the National League to be overturned.

With all the votes counted, Lincolnshire County Council is officially a Conservative hold following yesterday's local elections.

The council now consists of:

• Conservative: 54 seats
• Labour: 4 Seats
• Liberal Democrats: 3 seats
• Others: 9 seats

In this election, the Conservatives have lost four seats, Labour have lost two seats, the LibDems have gained two seats and others have gained four seats:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Martin Hill, says his party retaining control of the authority was “a resounding success” for the Conservatives.

Image source, LDRS

Councillor Hill (pictured) said: "This means we have a manifesto which we will then deliver for the public of Lincolnshire and we have a stable situation on the county council and can continue the running of it as a Conservative council.

"Thank you for giving the Conservatives once again a resounding thumbs-up. We will work hard for you and take the lessons learned so far."

Mr Hill promised to move forward on tackling potholes and fly-tipping as well as campaigning for more funding for the authority.

The Conservatives currently hold 41 seats out of 70 available, but there are still a number of results to come in.

In the 2017 elections, the party secured 58 seats to become by far the largest party on the council.

Vote counting is under way in the North East Lincolnshire Council elections.

Taking place in Grimsby, BBC reporter Phillip Norton said the counting officially started at 12:30.

The turnout has been announced as 24.9%.

The unitary authority is currently controlled by the Conservative Party.

Sharon Edwards
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Yes, you read that correctly.

The Ermine and Cathedral division of Lincolnshire County Council is having votes counted for a third time.

In 2017, just 16 votes separated the winning Conservatives and Labour in second.

This year, it's being contested by Christopher Reid for the Tories and Karen Lee for Labour.

Ricard Dale is the Lib Dem challenger and Valerie Wilkinson represents the Green party.

Ms Lee is the former MP for Lincoln who lost her seat at the 2019 general election.

One to keep an eye on...