THE latest James Bond film – expected to be Chester-born Daniel Craig's swansong – has had its release date put back by seven months amid mounting coronavirus fears.

The number of confirmed cases in the UK leapt up to 87 on Wednesday, March 4, with the number of cases globally passing 80,000. More than 3,000 patients have died from the virus.

As the virus continues to spread, producers of the latest Bond film No Time to Die, which was due to hit cinema screens in April, have now put back the release until November.

A statement posted on the James Bond Twitter account said: "MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of No Time to Die will be postponed until November 2020."

The film is now scheduled to be released on November 12 in the UK.

Previously, James Bond actor Daniel Craig had confirmed his retirement as the spy with the licence to kill, telling EW: “This is going to be my last James Bond adventure, this is it, it’s over.

“But I’m, for one, incredibly happy I got the chance to come back and do another one because I feel like this movie, whatever people think of it and who knows what people think of it, everybody put everything into it.

"We did our best and it feels like that. It’s as good as it can be.”

Daniel Craig was born on Liverpool Road in Chester and later lived in Frodsham, where his dad Tim ran the Ring O' Bells pub.