Coronavirus cases across south west London are rising, with infection rates peaking to worrying levels in two boroughs, according to the latest weekly Public Health England figures.

The numbers show that the virus infection rates, represented as the number of new cases in the past seven days, per 100,000 people, has risen in every single south west London borough.

Kingston upon Thames has seen the most dramatic spike in cases after it's Covid-19 infection rate jumped from 102.5 a week ago to 160.0 after 284 cases in the past seven days, a level of new cases which will need to be closely monitored.

In Richmond upon Thames, the number of new cases is also cause for concern, with 306 new cases and 154.5 cases per 100,000 people.

Friday's PHE update shows a continuing rise in virus cases across the capital despite the new tier restrictions, but cases in the south west of London remain relatively low in comparison to the rest of the UK.

The figures, for the seven days to October 19, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government's testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

They show the coronavirus infection rate, expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Kingston upon Thames is currently reporting the highest coronavirus infection rate in south west London, closely followed by Richmond upon Thames.

The next highest is Wandsworth, which reported 403 new cases in the past week, bringing its rate up from 105.6 to 122.2.

Merton is another borough to have broken 100 cases per 100,00 people, with 214 new cases brining its infection rate up from 81.8 to 103.6.

Epsom and Ewell's Covid-19 rate has also risen from 85.6 to 95.5 after recording 77 new cases in the past week.

Croydon has seen its Covid-19 rate rise from 66.9 to 88.2 after 327 new cases.

Whilst the rise is worrying, the boroughs are behind the worst in the capital such as Ealing (181.7) and Hackney (167.1).

Nearby, Southwark has recorded a rate of 104.4, Lewisham 80.8, and Bromley 94.8.

READ MORE: London now has one of the lowest R rates in the country

In the north, infection rates in Merseyside reached a whopping 662.2 per 100,000 in the past seven days, but despite this, the numbers are continuing to fall in some of the areas with the highest rates in England.

In Knowsley, Merseyside, 999 new cases were recorded in the seven days to October 19, the equivalent of 662.2 cases per 100,000 people - the highest rate in England.

But this is down from 719.9 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to October 12.

Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire has the second highest rate, up from 466.3 to 634.6, with 950 new cases.

Rossendale, also in Lancashire, is in third place, having seen the largest increase in its rate from 362.3 to 607.1, with 434 new cases.

But Liverpool and Nottingham, in fourth and fifth place respectively, have both seen significant drops in their rates.

In Liverpool the rate has fallen from 690.7 to 571.6, with 2,847 new cases.

Nottingham saw the largest drop in the country, down from 895.2 to 563.8, with 1,877 new cases.

Case rates have also continued to decrease in the cities of Newcastle, Exeter, Sheffield, Manchester and Oxford.

The list has been calculated by the PA news agency and is based on Public Health England data published on October 23 on the Government's coronavirus dashboard.