UPDATE: Bedford records 250 cases of coronavirus in just 24 hours

As of today (December 29), Bedford has recorded 250 new cases of coronavirus, with a total of 5,913 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

There were no deaths in Central Bedfordshire (297), Bedford (238) or Luton (260).

The town is now in the newly created Tier 4 with the rest of the county - which is effectively a full lockdown - with nearby Luton currently recording over 3,500 more cases than Bedford. We will find out if we go into Tier 5 tomorrow (Wednesday).

Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire now has 14,711 cases of Covid, Hertfordshire has 35,864 and Milton Keynes has 9,441 cases.

The new figures are recorded between 5pm the previous day to 5pm and unfortunately don't include the number of patients who have recovered from Covid-19.

Nationally, the number of coronavirus cases has risen by 53,135 and now stands at 2,382,865. The number of deaths has risen by 414 to 71,567.

The figures come from the Government website which is available for the public to view here