Biddulph, along with the rest of Staffordshire, will move into the tough Tier 4 restrictions from tomorrow, the Government has announced.

The announcement was made by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons at 3pm this afternoon (Wednesday).

Biddulph, which is currently in Tier 3, will move into the Tier 4 rules from one minute past midnight tomorrow (Thursday).

Tier 4 is currently the most severe level of restrictions of all the tiers that the Government has announced.

Mr Hancock said: "We must act to suppress the virus now. While we have the good news of the vaccine today, there are over 21,000 people in hospital with Covid-19 right now.

"The threat to life is real. This new variant is now spreading across England."

Neighbouring Cheshire will also move into Tier 4, as will Stoke-on-Trent.

Tier 4 means a 'Stay At Home' alert level is in place, with non-essential retail stores closing, and residents can only see one other person from another household outdoors.

The Government says that those who live in Tier 4 you must not leave or be outside of their home or garden except with a 'reasonable excuse'.

These excuses include work and volunteering, essential activities such as buying food, education and childcare or exercise.

For a full list of the rules in Tier 4, see the Government's website here.