PEOPLE upset about Somerset being placed in Tier 2 had better get used to the Covid-19 restrictions.

The Prime Minister has said England's tier scheme, which comes into effect on Wednesday after the second lockdown ends, could be here until February 3.

Boris Johnson, who is keen to quell opposition to the system in Tory ranks ahead of a Commons vote on the initiative on Tuesday, has named February 3 as the "sunset" expiry date.

He has written to MPs saying the rules could be relaxed next month - it is due to be reviewed on December 16 - and then scrapped in February.

Mr Johnson said the tiers will help avoid "disastrous consequences" for the NHS and there is a "real chance to return to something like life as normal" at Easter.

The tier system is being reviewed fortnightly and areas can move down tiers from December 16 if they meet certain criteria.

The Government will outline what those criteria are in the coming days.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the public, Mr Johnson has called on people to get behind the tier scheme.

He writes: "We can't blow it now. We can't just throw it all away - not when freedom is in sight.

"We have worked too hard, lost too many, sacrificed too much, just to see our efforts incinerated in another volcanic eruption of the virus."