Latest updates: East Midlands Live

Jason Weliczko, 48, who sells jacket potatoes in Nottingham, said: "Everyone I've spoken to has not got a clue what the difference is. It's all a bit confusing.

"And yes, if they do it for 28 days the 'R' rate might drop, but when they stop it'll go right back up again - I remember when shops first reopened round here, it was like a busy Christmas shopping day."

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Charlie Lever, 27, a PGCE student from Gedling, said: "My first thought when I heard was: 'Oh finally, something's happened'.

"I'm for it - I'm not saying the more restrictions the better, but it's better to be safe than sorry. But I do feel like now is quite an odd time to bring it in, seeing as cases have dropped so much here."

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Gerald Crampton has had two hip operations cancelled since July because of Covid.

The 59-year-old said: "I'm resigned to tier three, but frustrated - why didn't they bring it in earlier? It surprised me how long it took and now it's going down and they've imposed it.

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"It will affect my social life - I was seeing friends and family outdoors in pubs. But the weather isn't nice for meeting outdoors in public now."

Mr Crampton's wife works for an events company, and he believes the restrictions will also have an impact on her income.

More than 50 Conservative MPs, including two from Nottinghamshire, have written to Boris Johnson calling for a "clear road map" out of lockdown restrictions.

They have warned that northern England and the Midlands could risk being "left behind" and that the pandemic threatens the PM's pledge to "level-up".

All the areas under the strictest restrictions of the three-tier system for England are in the North or the Midlands.

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It was announced on Monday that people living in Nottingham, along with Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe, will move into the top tier of Covid restrictions.

Mansfield's Ben Bradley and Ashfield's Lee Anderson, who are MPs in areas that remain in tier two, both signed the letter sent by the Northern Research Group.

No 10 said it was "committed to levelling up across the country".

The owner of a pub in Eastwood said she feels pubs which do not serve meals "have been targeted again".

The Dog and Parrot in Eastwood will need to close under the new tier three restrictions due to come in place on Thursday

Kathryn Boam said they will need to shut for a least 28 days and have "been told nothing about how we're going to get out of it".

She added: "We were hoping we were going to stay in tier two. It still reduced the income down, but to go into tier three... it'll hit us even harder than the ones which do food."

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Further details about the lockdown restrictions are expected to be formally announced today.

She said: "There are a lot of publicans that are hoping we will be able to survive all of this, but we are heading very close to Christmas which is our busiest time and it doesn't look like we'll be trading as normal, by the sound of it.

"We understand the health of everybody is the priority and we've all been sticking with the guidelines. A lot of the customers say they feel safer in our pub then they do going out shopping so I can't understand why we've been targeted again."

David Erentz from West Bridgford said: "This has been on the cards for a while so it's not much of a shock.

"I won't be able to go round my parents anymore. And I was seeing my friends outdoors at the pub, which will have to stop. I'm turning 30 soon but I suppose not being able to have a few beers with my mates is a fairly minor problem in the grand scheme of things.

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I think it's fair enough to include West Bridgford, it would be hard not to - people would be coming out the city for drinks there."

Ishtiaq Asgher has been a taxi driver for 14 years and said it's the "worst he has ever seen".

The 59-year-old from Wollaton said he could be waiting four hours for a job and earning £40 for a day's work

He added: "It's very very difficult and it just gets worse and worse. But I think it's the right thing to do - we have to accept it, behind all this are real lives."

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Fellow taxi driver Shakeel Ahmed agreed times were difficult. He said: "We're not in tier 3 yet and this is what it's like. People are just going to get worried, and those that were coming out will not do so much any more."

Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Simon Robinson says he is "happy" with the government funding his area will receive, after news the borough will enter tier three restrictions.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, the Conservative councillor said: "We negotiated a financial package last week - it’s a formula based on population.

"Ultimately it’s never going to be enough, whatever they give us people are going to say it’s not enough.

"But I’m happy."

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Mr Robinson explained that the council would receive about £8 per head for enforcing the guidelines, and running track and trace programmes in the area, and then an extra £20 per head which would be used to aid struggling businesses.

Mr Robinson also said people from Rushcliffe should not travel to Newark - which remains in tier two - to shop.

"It’s absolutely discouraged, it is against government guidance to travel outside a tier three area," he said.

Nottingham City Council leader David Mellen said it is difficult to tell whether the city and surrounding areas have been given the financial support they need.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, the councillor said all areas that have gone into tier three were given a "flat rate".

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He said: "I think we have additional responsibilities of running a big city, and the city centre in particular has additional needs.

"I'm not sure that all of that will be covered in what we've been promised from the government."

He added that the costs of Covid-19 during the first lockdown "were not properly met as was promised", meaning budgets were "strained and stretched".

A Nottingham MP has said she will continue to fight for more funding from the government after the city and surrounding areas entered tier three restrictions.

Labour politician Nadia Whittome said the area required a "settlement that properly reflects the needs of our city and my constituents".

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The Nottingham East MP said the news that Nottingham was due to enter tier three restrictions on Thursday was "regrettable" and "totally avoidable had we had a proper track and trace system".

She added: "Nottingham City Council is clear that the government's proposals are not adequate to cover the costs of protecting health, livelihoods and businesses in Nottingham".

She said the government needed to "change its attitude towards Nottingham MPs and get round the table with us".

David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, has appealed to residents to "work together" and stick to the "very difficult" restrictions.

"We've got a growing number of people, way over 200 people, in our hospitals with Covid, and an increasing number in [intensive care units], so we are concerned about those numbers," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"Obviously we had many people die in Nottingham [and] Nottinghamshire earlier in the year and we don't want to add to that number with many more deaths as a result of this."

Nottingham City CouncilCopyright: Nottingham City Council