BLACKBURN with Darwen still has the highest coronavirus infection rate in the country, the latest figures show.

The figures, for the seven days to July 25, are based on tests carried out in labs and the wider community.

The rate, which is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people, is slightly lower across the authority than it was for the previous seven day period (down from 79.9 cases per 100,000 to 79.2) but still significantly higher than elsewhere in England.

And while there have been notable week-on-week jumps in Trafford, Manchester and Sandwell, the Public Health England figures show that there has been a large decline to the rate in Leicester, which is so far the only place in England to have gone into a local lockdown.

Hyndburn and Pendle sit seventh and eighth on the list, again with the rate remaining largely unchanged but reducing slightly.

Here is the list of the ten places in England showing the rate of new cases in the seven days to July 25, followed by the equivalent figure for the previous seven days to July 18:

Blackburn with Darwen 79.2 79.9

Leicester 56.0 75.2

Oldham 53.9 14.9

Bradford 46.0 42.6

Rochdale 34.5 47.3

Trafford 34.3 8.9

Hyndburn 33.4 34.6

Pendle 31.7 32.8

Sandwell 28.7 22.9

Melton 27.4 5.9