West Yorkshire will be moving into Tier 3 on Sunday, Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake has told a press conference.

The area will be placed in the toughest level of restrictions from 12.01am.

It comes after days of intensive talks between local leaders and the government amid rising rates across the region.

Parts of the North-East to remain under Tier 2 - but talks continue for the Tees Valley

It's understood the government is to give an extra £46.6m support funding to West Yorkshire to offset the impact of the restrictions on the economy.

The new restrictions mean people will not be allowed to mix indoors with anyone socially who isn't part of their household or support "bubble".

Leeds City Council's chief executive Tom Riordan said a multi-million pound support package had been negotiated with the government for West Yorkshire.

That cash will be in addition to the tier two funding already agreed, Mr Riordan said.

There would also be an additional £12.7m for testing and tracing, he added.

The move to tier three comes as the head of Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust says the number of Covid-19 patients in the city's hospitals has increased to 268.

That number is higher than in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Julian Hartley, the trust's chief executive.

Yesterday, Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the Government was "unflinching in their resolve" to place the district into the highest level of Covid-19 alert.

Ms Shah told our sister title the Bradford Telegraph & Argus: "With the government preparing to place Bradford into Tier 3, with no exit strategy in sight, it highlights the government has no plan to control this virus.

"SAGE suggests there needs to be a complete circuit breaker, Labour is supporting that suggestion, and it's time the government listened and acted to prevent a further escalation to the current health and economic crisis."

Request made for Darlington and Tees Valley to move into Tier 3 restrictions

Meanwhile, Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe has denied the region is in a “stand-off” with government about entering Tier 3 restrictions as long-running talks continue amid rising hospital admissions.

She said on Wednesday that it appeared the Government was “unflinching in their resolve” to place the region into Tier 3 as another day passed without a decision.

But Cllr Hinchliffe, who is also the chairwoman of the West YorkshireCombined Authority, told Today on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday she would not describe it as a “stand-off”.

The talks have been ongoing as hospitals in West Yorkshire announced the cancellation of some routine operations as numbers of Covid-19 patients on wards reached levels higher than in the April/May peak.

Cllr Hinchliffe told Today: “I wouldn’t call it a stand-off.”

She said the “only thing that’s worked” is a national approach but added: “I’ve been told there’s no prospect of a national lockdown.”

The councillor said: “The whole country was in it together and doing things together.

“There is something about people following rules and wanting to see the fairness of it all.”

In her statement on Wednesday, Cllr Hinchliffe said it was unclear what support would be offered to businesses in the event of a move to the higher tier but the Government had told council leaders it would be a “template package” with no room for negotiation.