PEOPLE living in Herefordshire will not be able to travel across the border to Powys or Monmouthshire without a reasonable excuse during the month-long lockdown, the First Minister of Wales has said. 

Prime Minster Boris Johnson announced plans for a month-long lockdown in England from Thursday, but just days later Wales will come out of its firebreak lockdown.

It means while England is in lockdown, Wales will have less-severe restrictions.

But First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he doesn't want people "to-ing and fro-ing" across the border between England and Wales.

“People who live in Wales but work in England will have a reasonable reason for travelling to work, and people who live in England and work in Wales clearly have a reasonable excuse for coming across the border to work here,” Mr Drakeford said.

“But it will be a restricted list of essential purposes, rather than the normal to-ing and fro-ing across the border that you would have seen in less fraught and difficult times.”

It also means people in Wales, such as those living in Hay-on-Wye, Knighton and Presteigne, will not be allowed to travel outside of the country without a reasonable excuse when the firebreak lockdown ends on November 9.

“There will be no travel restrictions inside Wales but during the month-long lockdown in England, travel will not be permitted outside Wales without a reasonable excuse,” Mr Drakeford said.

The Welsh Government will also “consider the impact” the lockdown in England will have on measures taken in Wales after its firebreak ends, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.

Mr Drakeford told a press conference that England and Wales share a “long and porous border”, with around 150,000 people crossing daily when lockdown is not in place.

“We will be coming out of our firebreak just as England begins a month-long lockdown and it is really important that as we open up, Wales doesn’t become an escape for people seeking to circumvent the new tighter restrictions imposed by the Prime Minister,” Mr Drakeford said.

“We want to keep Wales safe, and we want to keep the United Kingdom safe as well.”

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government would take a “cautious approach” to lifting the firebreak lockdown, with the set of national measures after it ends on November 9 designed to “maximise” its impact.