A Cheshire East Council chief has urged businesses to make being Covid-secure a "priority" as spot checks are carried out.

Council inspectors have been working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure premises are following the guidelines and "take action" when required.

The council and the HSE are also working alongside public health colleagues to support the understanding of any patterns in confirmed coronavirus cases in the area.

Being Covid-secure means that businesses need to put adjustments in place to manage the risk and protect workers and others from coronavirus.

Frank Jordan, Cheshire East Council executive director of place, said: "We are talking to local businesses, and visiting and inspecting sites to understand how they are managing risks in line with their specific business activity.

"Being Covid-secure needs to be the priority for all our borough's businesses. It is a legal duty for businesses to protect their workers and others from harm and this includes taking reasonable steps to control the risk and protect people from coronavirus.

All businesses, regardless of size or sector, can potentially receive a spot check to ensure they are Covid-secure.

Mr Jordan added: "This means making business adjustments to become Covid-secure. We advise employers to work with their employees when implementing changes, to help increase confidence with workers, customers and the local community.

"I have every confidence in the businesses in our borough that they will be compliant and I know that from our initial work with the HSE on this, prior to the easing of restrictions on the government's roadmap, we are doing exceptionally well to reduce the transmission rate of the virus.

"It's really important that we maintain that impetus in the coming weeks and I'm confident that we will."