Further pilot sport events with spectators in attendance will now not take place in the first two weeks of August, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.

A two-day county cricket friendly between Surrey and Middlesex took place with spectators in attendance earlier this week, but it appears that for the time being that will be as far as it goes in a tightening of restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The World Snooker Championship started on Friday with fans in attendance, with further spectators due for the rest of the 17-day event. Some 5,000 racegoers had been due to attend the Glorious Goodwood Festival on Saturday.

“Pilots of crowds at sports events will now not take place,” the Prime Minister said.

It is understood Premier League clubs had been hoping to admit supporters at pre-season friendlies next month on a socially-distanced basis.

It comes after it was announced that people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire would be banned from meeting each other inside their homes or in gardens following a spike in virus cases.

Mass gatherings have been banned since March following the onset of the pandemic in the United Kingdom.