COMMENT: Spectre of Tier 3 hangs over Sunderland at Halloween

Families are being invited to track down creepy creatures on their phones as part of a Sunderland BID campaign to boost business in the city in the run up to Halloween.

Meanwhile, council chiefs will be checking their mobile phones, dreading a call from the Government inviting them to talks about the biggest monster of the moment … Tier 3 restrictions!

The former is a great idea to stimulate the local economy, the latter would be a frightening prospect for business.

We have seen in recent days with Greater Manchester and their protracted negotiations government what a mess it could turn out to be.

Which is why council bosses across our region have pleaded with ministers not to push them into the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions.

Leaders from Newcastle, Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham say that infection rates are slowing here and that there are “no significant pressures” on local hospitals. Everyone will sincerely hope that the Government will look at the evidence and agree.

This good pandemic news is down in no small part to the public doing its bit to stay safe, but, as leaders stressed this week, we must continue to be vigilant.

If the figures take a turn for the worst, the unwanted monster of Tier 3 will loom large.