Great Casterton Parish Council and Essendine Parish Council react to tier 3 rules as travel to Stamford, Bourne and The Deepings is advised against

Stamford has recently hit the national headlines as it fell into tier 3 of the new coronavirus restrictions.

However, the decision to implement the tiers for Lincolnshire as a whole will have an impact on the surrounding villages too.

Just metres away from the county boundary is Great Casterton, which as part of Rutland, falls into tier 2.

Coun Mark Bush, chairman of Great Casterton Parish Council, said: "The trouble with Rutland is that it's surrounded by areas in tier 3. We are in a spot in the middle of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, I know Peterborough is in tier 2 but it has plenty of infections.

"Stamford hasn't got a lot but all the next door places do.

"I think it's an unfortunate necessity with Christmas coming up - we need to push down as hard as we can."

With Stamford a two-minute drive away, many people in Great Casterton rely on the town for shopping - both to buy necessary items and luxuries.

However, the Government is advising against travelling between tiers if people can avoid it.

"There's been a bit of worry. People don't want to go shopping in Oakham as everyone is used to shopping in Stamford," said Mark

"I think they will be careful.

"If you go into Stamford it seems everyone does the right thing and it's not overcrowded - there's not people pushing and all the rest of it.

"It's noticeable that a lot more people are wearing masks while walking down the street."

Coun Bush added that Rutland County Council is also very pro-active in trying to get the Covid cases down.

The Crown, which is the pub in Great Casterton, is often frequented by Rutland Heights residents in Stamford who live just a minutes walk away.

The village also benefits from an osteopath and vets which is used by people in Stamford.

"They are bound to get people coming in and of course we have more than one thousand school children coming each morning and leaving every afternoon.

"That's the biggest influx of people from outside the village is the two schools."

The residents in Essendine also face a similar issue as they occupy the village close to the Lincolnshire and Rutland border.

Ian Collis, chairman of Essendine Parish Council, said: "The difficulty is if we have to see any family over the border.

"Personally I don't understand how the bottom end of Lincolnshire is in tier 3."

He added that he doesn't believe many people travel to Essendine, even for walks, so it isn't expected people in tier 3 will break rules to visit the village.