UPDATE: Bedford records 227 cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths in just 24 hours

As of today (December 30), Bedford has recorded 227 new cases of coronavirus, with a total of 6,140 people now diagnosed with the deadly virus, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.

There were 11 deaths in Bedford (249), seven deaths in Central Bedfordshire (304) and four deaths in Luton (264).

The town is still in Tier 4 with the rest of the county - which is effectively a full lockdown - with nearby Luton currently recording over 3,600 more cases than Bedford.

Central Bedfordshire has 315 new Covid cases with a total of 7,760 while Luton recorded 331 with a new total of 9,811.

Meanwhile, Buckinghamshire now has 15,202 cases of Covid, Hertfordshire has 37,377 and Milton Keynes has 9,855 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 50,023 and now stands at 2,432,888. The number of deaths has risen by 981 to 72,548.

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