Gainsborough Hospital's minor injury unit has been upgraded to an Urgent Treatment Centre.

Image source, Google

From this morning, extra services, including x-rays and blood tests, will be offered at the John Coupland Hospital.

It will continue to offer help for head injuries, sprains and bone breakages, as well as other non-emergency illnesses, external.

The trust which runs the centre says it will speed up treatment of patients and reduce pressure on A&E.

The group which represents small businesses in Lincolnshire says "heads are spinning" after the government announced a second full lockdown for England starting on Thursday.

Image source, PA Media

Katrina Pierce, from the Federation of Small Businesses, says the announcement came as "a real blow" to Lincolnshire firms.

Last week, Professor Derek Ward told BBC Lincolnshire based on "our current data, in my professional opinion there is no reason to change our alert level at this point".

Ms Pierce says the latest announcement has hit particularly hard, coming only days after Public Health Lincolnshire said that the county wouldn't need to go into tighter restrictions.

Ms Pierce says businesses are praying that the month-long lockdown doesn't "teeter over into December when that really is a very busy period for retail hospitality and many small businesses."

BBC Weather

A wet morning with a scattering of showers blowing in from the west.

Showers will mostly ease throughout the afternoon with cloud breaking up. Winds will remain blustery.

A dry night with plenty of clear spells, especially in the first half of the night.

Towards sunrise, a band of cloud will push in from the west.

Winds will weaken throughout the night.

Breaking news, sport, travel and weather updates from across Lincolnshire.