BRADFORD will remain in Tier 3 for at least the next two weeks, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

The district, along with all of West Yorkshire and almost every area which was previously in Tier 3, will remain under the tightest restrictions over Christmas, with pubs and restaurants shut and a ban on household mixing in private gardens and indoors spaces.

The only Tier 3 area which has been moved down to Tier 2 is Bristol and North Somerset, while Herefordshire has been moved from Tier 2 to Tier 1.

Vast areas of the South East and East of England have been moved up into Tier 3 from Tier 2 following sharp rises in infections. This follows London and parts of the South East being moved into Tier 3 earlier this week.

In the South East, infections have risen by 46 per cent and hospital admissions by a third in the past week.

Bradford Council had requested to be moved into Tier 2 following a drop in infections.