conurbation

The supplier serves about eight million people in homes and businesses in the West Midlands conurbation, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, along with Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire.

It will mean the cancellation of services in the West Midlands conurbation, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

"Linton-on-Ouse is not a major conurbation and has limited infrastructure which would struggle to support such an increased number."

About 200 miles east of Algiers, Constantine, known to its Numidian founders as Cirta, is today a sprawling conurbation of more than 400,000 people.

In Yuzhou city, part of Xuchang's conurbation, 1 million residents are already under lockdown, with people in some areas unable to leave their homes.