Trick or treating 'wrongly banned' in Blackpool as resort chiefs jump the gun - but move into tier three does effective forbid it

But, despite a brief U-turn, with a spokesman admitting it was wrong at the time to claim the yearly sweet-grabbing tradition is outlawed, this morning's move into tier three of restrictions means it effectively is now.

With social mixing in private homes and gardens still banned last week, the Lancashire Resilience Forum, which was set up to spearhead anti-Covid efforts across the county, said trick or treating "will not be permitted this year as it would increase the risk of household transmissions".

That statement was repeated by Blackpool Council on Wednesday, but only after the county was placed under tier two restrictions, which actually eased social contact rules and allowed mixing in gardens in socially distanced groups of up to six people - putting trick or treating back on the agenda.

The council later accepted: "With the whole of Lancashire currently in tier two, mixing in gardens is permitted".

But it warned: "It's a rapidly-changing situation and we're awaiting further guidance on this as things develop."

And, this morning, it was announced that the county is set to be hit by more severe restrictions by being placed into tier three, which effectively bans trick or treating because the mixing of households, with a few exemptions, is forbidden.