The first coronavirus deaths in four days have been recorded at Southend Hospital Trust, the latest figures show.

NHS England figures show 236 people had died in hospital at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as of 5pm on Thursday (July 2).

Here's why Southend Covid cases have jumped by 180 in one day

That was an increase of three compared to the 233 that had been recorded at the same point on Wednesday.

The victims were among 3,358 deaths recorded across the East of England.

Of 188 trusts in England,Southend Hospital trust has the 42nd-highest death toll.

Daily death counts are revised each day, with each case backdated to the actual date of death.

This means some of the deaths that were first recorded in the last 24 hours may actually have taken place days earlier.

NHS England guidance states: "Confirmation of Covid-19 diagnosis, death notification and reporting in central figures can take up to several days and the hospitals providing the data are under significant operational pressure."

Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.

Across England, the death toll hit 28,831 on Thursday, up from 28,793 on Wednesday.

Separate figures from the Department of Health and Social Care show 283,757 people had tested positive for Covid-19 across the UK as of 9am on Thursday, down from 313,483.

The decrease was due to PHE making changes to its reporting methods, to remove any cases that may have been counted more than once.