Lockdown: Tougher restrictions begin around the UK

Much of the UK is now under stricter coronavirus restrictions, which came into force at one minute past midnight on Boxing Day.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have both started new lockdowns, while many areas of England are now under the toughest tier four coronavirus restrictions.

This means that around 43% of England's population - 24 million - are now under the toughest restrictions.

Other parts of England also move to higher tiers - around 24.8 million in tier three - to curb the spread of a new variant of Covid-19.

England

All areas of England have been placed in one of four tiers, depending on factors such as how fast Covid is spreading and pressure on hospitals.

New Tier 4 areas include Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Waverley in Surrey, and Hampshire - including Portsmouth and Southampton but excluding the New Forest.

The restrictions have applied in London, Kent, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey (excluding Waverley), Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother and Hastings, and the majority of the East of England from 20 December.

People in tiers one to three have been told not to travel into the new tier four areas, while people across all tiers should now "stay local".

Wales

Since Wales went into a Level 4 lockdown people have been unable to buy non-essential items

Wales has been under a national lockdown since 20 December, with the whole country under the highest level of level four restrictions.

Scotland

Level four lockdown measures are now in place across mainland Scotland for three weeks, starting on 26 December.

Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles and other island communities are in level three.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's six-week lockdown also began on Boxing Day, with tighter restrictions during the first weeks.

This means that until 2 January no sport is allowed and even essential shops must close at 8pm.

People who didn't form a Christmas bubble on Christmas Day can instead form one on either 26 or 27 December for one day, to make sure people who were working on Christmas Day didn't miss out.