The vigil for Sarah Everard which was to be held outside York Minster at 6pm this evening has been cancelled because of Covid regulations, the organisers have confirmed.

Instead, Reclaim the Streets York is asking people to post a picture of a lit candle at 9:30pm tonight with the hashtag #ReclaimTheseStreets.

People can also use the hashtag to post 'any thoughts, reflections or tributes they'd like to make to Sarah Everard and all who experience gendered violence on our streets', the organisation added.

Earlier, the organisation said it would be hosting an online vigil for Sarah within the next week.

"This will have a series of important speakers and will commemorate the life of Sarah Everard and others who have been the victims of violence on Britain's streets," the organisation said.

In a message to followers announcing the cancellation of this evening's event, the organisation said it had "planned to host a peaceful, socially-distanced vigil outside of the Minster to pay our respects to Sarah in her home town of York. However, due to the High Court ruling yesterday that a vigil under the same movement in Clapham was 'unlawful' and could not proceed, we have decided to cancel our vigil and look for alternative ways to demosntrate."

In a separate statement to The Press, the organisation added that it could not stop people from choosing to walk past the Minster this evening if they chose to do so and complied with Covid regulations.

"We would not condone a police presence there to threaten people even more from reclaiming the streets they live within," the organisation said.

It added that it has 'started conversations with the police and (the) local council about laying flowers outside of York Minster for Sarah and her family'.

The announcement comes after a vigil for Sarah in south London was cancelled following a High Court ruling that it would be unlawful.

Reclaim These Streets had been planning to host a demonstration tonight on Clapham Common in south London, near to where the 33-year-old, whose body was formally identified on Friday, went missing.

But organisers said that despite their attempts to work with police to ensure the vigil could proceed safely, they now felt it could not go ahead.

Two Reclaim These Streets vigils planned in Coventry and Birmingham have also been cancelled after consultation with West Midlands Police.