County Durham village divided by Covid-19 restrictions

The north side of the village is part of County Durham, while a new housing estate on the south side is part of Darlington

A village between Newton Aycliffe and Darlington has been divided by new restrictions to tackle a rise in coronavirus cases in the North East.

The north side of School Aycliffe comes under the control of Durham County Council - one of seven local authorities subject to the new rules.

But the south side of the village is part of Darlington Borough Council, which is exempt.

Almost two million people are affected by the temporary measures.

Under the new restrictions, people have been banned from meeting with other households, while pubs and restaurants can only offer table service and have to shut at 22:00 BST.

'Covid will travel'

Dane Rollo, a resident on the County Durham side of the street, said: "It just seems a little bit silly to everybody that the difference of 1ft can make a difference to whether you have the restrictions or not.

"My understanding is, Covid will travel and it doesn't matter if you've got a kerb or a bit of grass, that will still travel."

Hareth Haizan, a resident on the Darlington side, said: "We just crack a joke between us and then they say 'one rule for us and one rule for the other', we are all right, we can go anywhere we want but you can't."

Many areas historically in County Durham, such as Darlington and Wynyard, are now in different local authorities after changes to boundaries over many years.

• SOCIAL DISTANCING: What are the rules now?

• SUPPORT BUBBLES: What are they and who can be in yours?

• FACE MASKS: When do I need to wear one?

• SCHOOLS: What will happen if children catch coronavirus?

• TESTING: What tests are available?

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