It is hoped that most of Dorset Council's services, such as bin collection and household recycling centres, will still be able to operate during the second lockdown.

The country will enter a lockdown on Thursday and leader of Dorset Council, Councillor Spencer Flower, is calling on residents to 'do our best to obey the rules' in order for families to come together at Christmas.

He said: "The collective efforts of people across Dorset have kept us in Tier 1 up to now and while most people here have been compliant with the rules, the disease is spreading nationwide, including the South West, and we must all act now to reduce the infection rate.

"This is undoubtedly a worrying time, so I want to reassure residents that Dorset Council stands ready, once again, to support our communities by continuing to provide essential services, including paying out financial packages to businesses and supporting clinically vulnerable people.

"I'll be able to make a further statement as soon as I know more detail on the level of support Government is offering to businesses and how the lockdown is likely to affect council services but I am hopeful most of our services, like bin collections and household recycling centres will be largely unaffected by this latest set of rules.

"Everyone wants to be able to join their families at Christmas, which is why we must all do our best to obey the rules now. I am calling on the people of Dorset to pull together, as we have done before, to help each other and our communities through this second lockdown."