A coronavirus hotspot in Kent has recorded no Covid-19 deaths for the first time since lockdown began.

Figures show that Ashford, which has the worst infection rate in the county, had no deaths linked to the virus in the first week of August.

It is the first time the area has recorded no deaths in a week since lockdown measures were introduced in March.

At the same time, deaths across Kent fell into single figures for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics says seven people died with the virus in the county in the first week of August - 3% of registered deaths from all causes across those seven days.

Although Ashford still has one of the UK's highest cumulative infection rates - with just over 1% of people in the area having tested positive for the virus - the number of new cases fell 65% in the month leading up to August 10.

It is a trend seen across the county, with weekly cases falling from 155 to 43 in the last month.

The latest figures on Covid-19 deaths are in stark contrast to the height of the pandemic in April, when 242 people lost their lives across Kent in a single week.

At that point, coronavirus deaths were accounting for 28% of the total registered from all causes.

In the week leading up to August 7, the number of deaths registered was 1.7% below the five-year average; the eighth consecutive week that deaths have been below this measure.

The figures come just over a month since a 'second wave' in East Kent hospitals resulted in them seeing a staggering one in nine deaths in hospitals across England.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford