Covid: Dividing counties with different tiers 'illogical'

The Cyder House Inn, which is just a few metres outside Waverley, will have to close

Dividing counties and leaving neighbouring communities under different Covid-19 rules is "illogical", a Sussex MP said.

Huw Merriman spoke out as Hastings and Rother face entering the toughest restrictions on Saturday.

Mr Merriman, Bexhill and Battle MP, said all of East Sussex should be in tier three as "you can't split up a county."

Other MPs disagree, saying treating a county as one is a "blunt instrument".

Most of Surrey also faces going into tier three on Saturday, with the exception of Waverley.

The Cyder House Inn, near Guildford, sits just a few metres outside the Waverley borough boundary and will close for the third time this year.

"Unfortunately, we're just on the wrong side of the road, [it's] incredibly frustrating," landlord Shaun Hayter said.

"I could probably run a beer line to the other side of the street, it's that close."

Laurence Bell said it would have been better to remain in lockdown

Laurence Bell, who owns the White Rock Hotel next to Hasting's pier, said it was "really bad news" to be entering tier three, but stressed the tier below had been "no bed of roses".

"In hindsight, it would have been a lot better if we'd have been locked down," he said.

"It's been a pointless two and a half weeks and then we are completely closed for the two weeks where we actually might have made some money," he added.

Mark Edwards, who launched Tommys Pizzeria in Hastings shortly before the pandemic, said the move was "expected and, begrudgingly, I think it's probably necessary".

The infection rate has increased sharply in the town. In the week to 29 November, there were 68 cases per 100,000 people. But, the rate rose to 589.2 in the week to 13 December.

"I think we all know it has to be done," Mr Edwards said.

Mark Edwards said people in Hastings were expecting to move into the toughest restrictions

Nus Ghani, the MP in neighbouring Wealden, said it was a "huge relief" her constituency would remain in tier two.

She had "worked tirelessly" to highlight local differences in infection rates and "bring to an end the blunt instrument of county line tiers," she said.

The Department of Health and Social Care said decisions were made by ministers, who are advised by England's chief medical officer.

It said that rising rates in Hastings and Rother were "very concerning".

Rates in Waverley are "lower than other areas of Surrey, including neighbouring Guildford borough and therefore does not justify escalation to Tier 3 at this point," it said.