Halloween revellers hit the streets of Newcastle on Friday night as the city remained under Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions.
People flocked to bars in the city on the same night it was revealed Boris Johnson would announce a nationwide lockdown next week.
Earlier in the day, MPs in the North East held talks about entering Tier 3 with a minister, Hartlepool MP Mike Hill said the Tees Valley region said.
But talk of harsher restrictions did not stop revellers going out to drink and party in the street in Halloween fancy dress.
Halloween revellers hit the streets of Newcastle on Friday night as the city remained under Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions
Drinkers were pictured being arrested in the street, while others in fancy dress and coronavirus face masks posed for selfies next to police vehicles
Girls in fancy dress on a night out pose for photos in Newcastle on on the same night it was revealed Boris Johnson would announce a nationwide lockdown next week
A girl in Halloween fancy dress is held up by a friend and police officer in Newcastle. Earlier in the day, MPs in the north east held talks about entering Tier 3 with a minister, Hartlepool MP Mike Hill said the Tees Valley region said
Drinkers were pictured being arrested in the street, while others in fancy dress and coronavirus face masks posed for selfies next to police vehicles.
Part of the North East of England was thought to be heading for the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions on Friday.
Hartlepool MP Mike Hill said the Tees Valley region, which also includes Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar, said talks about entering Tier 3 had been taking place with a minister on Friday.
The Labour MP tweeted: ‘Local leaders are thrashing out a package for the Tees Valley Region right now.
A girl wearing a halo and ballerina skirt stands above two revellers dressed as Super Mario and Luigi and one in a Spiderman costume
A young man takes out his phone while talking to two women in Newcastle on Friday night as police watch on in the background
Huge queues for ATMs formed on the streets as revellers packed out Newcastle’s bars before the 10pm curfew on Friday night
Revellers enjoy a pre Halloween Friday night out in Newcastle this evening, as the prospect of the city being placed under Tier 3 COVID measures grows stronger with cases rising across the North
Hartlepool MP Mike Hill said the Tees Valley region, which also includes Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar, said talks about entering Tier 3 had been taking place with a minister on Friday
‘MPs will be informed of the outcome later today but we are moving towards Tier 3.’
Redcar and Cleveland Council leader Mary Lanigan, speaking on behalf of the councils, said: ‘We are having ongoing discussions with the Government about its intention to take the Tees Valley into Tier Three restrictions.
‘Nothing has been agreed and we anticipate further discussions on Monday.
‘We will continue to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our residents, supporting businesses and saving jobs as we press for the best possible outcome for the Tees Valley.’
On Thursday evening, Independent elected Mayor of Middlesbrough Andy Preston said NHS capacity to cope with Covid-19 patients was ‘disappearing fast’ and a crisis lay ahead if no action was taken.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released figures which showed new cases were continuing to rise in the wider North East region, but at a slower rate than elsewhere in the North of England
Large crowds of revellers in fancy dress head home after a night on the town in Newcastle on Friday night
People flocked to bars in the north east city on the same night it was revealed Boris Johnson would announce a nationwide lockdown next week
Two men and three women pose in inmate costumes next to a Northumbria Police vehicle on Friday night in Newcastle
Dr Richard Cree, an intensive care consultant at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, has blogged about the pandemic.
He wrote: ‘We had not expected that things would be getting this bad this quickly.
‘Don’t get me wrong, we are all more than able to cope with the current workload but are worried about how bad things might be, come Christmas.
‘God only knows what surprises Santa will bring us this year.’
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released figures which showed new cases were continuing to rise in the wider North East region, but at a slower rate than elsewhere in the North of England.
While rates remained high in the North East, the ONS said they have now levelled off and ‘there is now a larger gap with the other two northern regions’, Yorkshire and the North West.