Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes says the new coronavirus restrictions are being introduced in the North East as a "preventative" measure.

"I think we should all be deeply concerned about the rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases we have seen over the last week in the North East," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"And not just the rapid rise in numbers, but also the fact that the average age of people being infected is going up as well.

"Last week 60% of the people that were being tested were between the ages of 18 and 30. That is now starting to reach into older age groups as well.

"We know that when it starts to affect older people that's when you start to get the hospitalisations and sadly also the mortality too.

"That's why we are acting now as a preventative measure to try to put off any further spread of the virus and ensure that we don't end up here in the North East in a more restrictive lockdown instead."

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage as increased Covid-19 restrictions are expected to come in for two million people across north-east England.

The latest measures may mean people cannot visit other households across the Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham council areas, and pubs must shut by 22:00.

It comes after a surge in Covid-19 cases, with 1,106 recorded in those areas in a seven-day period.

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