BLACKBURN with Darwen Council's leader has warned residents that the borough is 'not out of the woods' as he welcomed a recent fall in coronavirus cases.

Cllr Mohammed Khan issued his caution as the authority's executive board approved its Covid-19 Local Outbreak Management Plan last night.

Introducing the detailed 32-page document, council health boss Cllr Damian Talbot said: "This is a hugely difficult time for the borough and the communities in the borough. We all understand the challenges that people face, the frustrations that we have at the moment.

"Our numbers have dropped a little. It is a positive step. But we must continue in this direction."

Cllr Khan said: "We have made the progress. We are third now. We have a long way to go. We are not out of the woods but we are continuing to make progress and make sure the community is working with us. We are not complacent. We have a lot to do. We need to do a great deal more to make sure people are going to be tested and people are going to take care of our guidance."