Much-needed midnight haircuts, crack-of-dawn retail therapy and cheering thirsty pub-goers have ushered in the long-awaited reopening of a swathe of businesses across England.
Eager customers wasted no time in making the most of the easing of coronavirus restrictions on Monday as the country took the next significant step on its journey out of a third national lockdown.
Losing lengthy lockdown locks and reinvigorating beauty treatments were the priority for some as relaxed rules meant salons and hairdressers were able to treat customers for the first time since January 6.
Early-morning queues formed outside clothing stores, with thousands of non-essential retail premises now eligible to resume trading.
Party like it s the first trip to the pub in FOUR MONTHS! Drinkers are in high spirits across the UK as outdoors bars reopen their doors while shops, gyms and hairdressers also finally reopen
Confusion over rules has seen officials clamping down on pubs they believe could put their customers at risk
Temperatures dipping to -3C overnight and snow across much of the south failed to call a halt to celebrations
Some eager patrons were even seen nursing pints minutes after midnight as they flocked to pubs at midnight
Today the excitement got too much for some, with scuffles breaking out at Foot Locker on Oxford Street
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BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) -People queued up outside retailers across England on Monday to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown.
After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a “major step” towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat.
As the sun rose, dozens of people queued up outside Primark in English cities such as Birmingham and outside JD Sports on Oxford Street in London, undeterred by the unseasonably cold weather.
Early-morning shoppers gather outside the JD Sports store in Oxford Street, London, waiting for the store to reopen (Aaron Chown/PA)
People queued up outside retailers across England on Monday to release their pent-up shopping fever and some grabbed a midnight pint or even an early haircut as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of lockdown.
After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a “major step” towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat.
As the sun rose, people queued up outside Primark in Birmingham, England’s second city, and outside JD Sports on Oxford Street in London.