Brentford will join the rest of London in the strictest tier 3 from Wednesday, the government has announced.

It follows a surge in coronavirus cases across the capital in the last few weeks while the city was in tier 2 restrictions.

The tier change will come in to force at 00:01 on Wednesday (16th December.)

It means bars, pubs, restaurants and cafes will all have to close again - just weeks after the national lockdown and with less than two weeks to go before Christmas.

It also means Brentford FC fans, who had finally been allowed into their new stadium, will no longer be able to watch games.

London MPs were told this morning (Monday) of the plans after it was revealed the number of new cases had gone "off the scale".

Tier 3 means:

• You cannot mix indoors, in private gardens or in most outdoor venues, except with your household or bubble

• You can meet in a group of up to six in other outdoor spaces, such as parks, beaches or countryside

• Shops, gyms and personal care services (such as hairdressing) can stay open

• Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants must stay closed, except for delivery and takeaway

• Sports fans cannot attend events in stadiums

• Indoor entertainment venues - such as bowling alleys and cinemas - must stay closed

• People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said d a new variant of the virus had been found which could explain why the number of cases is rising so fast.

Mr Hancock told MPs: "We have identified a new variant of coronavirus, which may be associated with the fastest spread in the south-east of England.

"Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants.

"We've currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant, predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas, and numbers are increasing rapidly."