The leader of Maldon District Council said she fully supports the declaration of a 'major incident' across Essex as coronavirus cases surge.

On Tuesday the number of patients in Essex receiving treatment for coronavirus exceeded those seen at the peak of the first wave of the virus in the spring.

In response to the massive growth in demand on hospitals, particularly in mid and south Essex, the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) has declared a "major incident".

Maldon District Council leader, Wendy Stamp said the move was "necessary" to ease pressure.

The latest figures show that the infection rate in Maldon has increased again to 759.3 per 100,000.

A further 493 cases have also been confirmed in the seven days leading up to December 24.

Mrs Stamp said: "I fully support the move by the Essex Resilience Forum to declare a major incident for Essex.

"The rising number of cases is a clear indication that such a measure is necessary in order to ease the pressure on an already stretched NHS in Essex.

"It is important that we all continue follow the Tier 4 measures in order to keep ourselves and others safe."

The move means the county can seek further financial support from the Government in a bid to help ease pressure on the NHS.

The ERF, which consists of the NHS, blue light responders and local authorities, says pressures are being felt primarily in NHS and local authority services and are associated with critical care and bed capacity, staff sickness or self-isolation levels and the system’s ability to discharge patients quickly into safe environments.

Follow our live blog here.