Revellers in England were quick to embrace their newly-restored freedoms when some pubs opened at midnight, as the latest easing of restrictions came into force.

Up until midnight, customers had to rely on the weather to partake in drinking in establishments with beer gardens or street terraces.

As Sunday turned to Monday, customers could once again savour some of the indoor treats that had been denied to them, such as perusing a jukebox screen for a favourite track or sinking a few balls on the pool table.

Meanwhile, airport activity stepped up as travel restrictions loosened while the London Eye back in rotation and the BT Tower all lit up again.

After Christmas was all but cancelled, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had hoped for a better 2021 than the previous year – but it soon became apparent amid a startling rise in cases and deaths that firm action was needed to control the virus with the vaccines programme only in its infancy.

And 2021 had only just begun when another national lockdown was imposed as the country wrestled with an alarming spread of infection.

As restrictions eased and the vaccination programme was rolled out on a massive scale, pubs with beer gardens or other outdoor drinking areas were permitted to reopen but in often inclement weather it was not the most convivial setting for those who chose to partake.

With only visits to toilets allowed indoors, it meant that some of the pleasures of the pub were off limits.

However, Monday’s midnight relaxation of the rules saw pool tables once again available to customers while some drinkers made a beeline for the jukebox so they could mark the occasion with their favourite music.

Hugging is another restriction to be relaxed under a new mantra with a provision that it should be sensible while there was increased activity at airports with travel rules being relaxed.

Pubs were not the only institutions to see a rekindling of activity with the London Eye once again turning while another London landmark, the BT Tower, signalled the latest step forward in the return to normality.

Travel hubs such as Gatwick Airport also saw an increase in activity with green-list countries now available for foreign leisure travel as the shackles of lockdown were cast off by travellers.

PA Media