The Covid infection rate in Ipswich has surged in the last week to become the highest in England.

Government data has revealed that the seven-day rate is now at 854.5 cases per 100,000 people for the week up to October 14.

This means almost one in a hundred people living in the borough tested positive for coronavirus in the space of a week, with 1,162 new infections.

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The town with the next highest Covid rate in the country is Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, which has 817.9 cases 100,000, with 655 new cases reported.

Babergh, East Suffolk, Mid Suffolk and West Suffolk have also seen a rise in infection rate in the last week and are now higher than England's average of 437.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Despite the recent surge in cases, the number of people in hospital with the virus in Suffolk remains far below January's peak.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Colchester hospital, had 39 Covid patients as of October 12.

But the trust was treating more than 500 patients at the peak of the pandemic in January.

Calls have been made to open up walk in vaccine centres for children, as only 14.1% of the county's youngsters have been vaccinated.