Wolf Alice have postponed their upcoming UK tour due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

The 'Smile' band - who had already postponed three shows in Glasgow and two in Dublin - made the decision to delay the run as a whole out of concern for "people's safety and access to our concerts".

They said in a statement: "We are absolutely gutted to announce that we have decided to postpone our upcoming tour this January.

"As the Covid pandemic seems to be getting worse and with an overwhelming number of daily cases it feels like a particularly volatile time to go ahead with such a large tour.

"People's safety and access to our concerts is of the utmost importance to us and we feel that is something we can't ensure at these large indoor shows. (sic)"

The group - made up of Ellie Rowswell, Theo Ellis, Joff Oddie and Joel Amey - confirmed they are working on rescheduling the 20-date tour with an announcement to follow at a later date.

They continued: "We are already working to get rescheduled dates confirmed ASAP and will be making an announcement in the following weeks, all tickets will remain valid for re-scheduled shows and refunds are available if you are unable to attend the new dates. (sic)"

The quartet apologised to fans for their decision, but added they felt like they were making a "responsible decision".

They added: "We are sorry to do this but we feel like this is the responsible decision for the current climate of the pandemic."

Meanwhile, singer Ellie recently called on festivals to do more to make the events gender-balanced as she spoke about the need to diversify.

She said: "Diversity in any industry should be celebrated. You maybe don't see as many female-fronted bands on the indie circuit.

"Especially when you look at festival lineups. They are definitely not gender-balanced."