Scientists advising the Government say that the coronavirus R number may have risen above 1.0 in the South West.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has published regional values for the reproduction number in England - referred to as R - for the first time, with the South West having the highest range at 0.8 to 1.1, in breaking news from the Press Association.

The East of England is at 0.7 to 0.9, London, the Midlands, the North West and the South East at 0.8 to 1.0, and the North East and Yorkshire at 0.7 to 1.0.

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The reproduction number for coronavirus across the UK remains between 0.7 and 0.9, while across England as a whole it is 0.8 to 1.0.

But experts have cautioned against the use of regional R values – the average number of people an infected person can pass the disease on to – saying that as the number of infections falls, regional R values become less reliable.

Instead, from next week the Government will publish the growth rates for regions that are based on data and make fewer assumptions.