SWINDON'S parkruns will not return until July 24 at the earliest after Boris Johnson delayed the final step of the government's roadmap out of lockdown.

The popular 5k Saturday morning events at Lydiard Park and Seven Fields had been scheduled to be held for the first time in 15 months on June 26.

Organisers at parkrun UK had been working hard to secure permission from enough landowners up and down the country to allow the safe return of its events nationwide.

Seven Fields parkrun was given the green light by Central Swindon North Parish Council, while Swindon Borough Council has done likewise at Lydiard.

But after the PM's announcement on Monday, a spokesman for parkrun UK said: "While this delay is disappointing, we respect the fact that a significant number of these permissions were contingent on the country moving into step four, and we will therefore target a new reopening date of Saturday, 24 July."