At the Kentish Belle pub in Bexleyheath, south-east London, there was a "sense of celebration" in the early hours of Monday - as it opened to midnight pubgoers.

Nicholas Hair, the pub's landlord and owner, said there was "big excitement" ahead of the reopening, with lots of people still ringing to see if they could book minutes ahead of time.

"I'm hoping that this is a sort of rebirth, and that we are reopen for the foreseeable," he said.

One man at reopening said he was excited to be out "having a drink, seeing mates" and that it was good to be able to "have a laugh, enjoy this fine establishment and have a drink".

He said he had "downed" his first pint of beer, and added: "It's been too long, I haven't seen these lot socially for a while.

"It's good to be out, regardless of the time and the weather and how cold it is."

On another table, a woman said she was "very much enjoying" her first pint, but said she was more happy to be "social again".

"We've missed celebrations, Christmas, Easter. So yeah it's nice to be back again," she said.

She added: "None of us want to go back through what we've been through in the last few months, so we've got to keep washing our hands."

This was the scene outside Primark in Birmingham this morning, as shoppers waited for the store to open:

Image source, PA Media

The store opened at 7am - allowing shoppers to buy their clothes in person for the first time in months.

Image source, PA Media

As lockdown restrictions ease, how can you keep yourself and others safe?

From outdoor dining to taking public transport, the BBC’s science editor David Shukman explains the risks and what to look out for.

The manager of a flood-hit pub which has only opened for one day in the last 18 months has described the coronavirus lockdown easing as "fantastic".

Felicity Bell of The Boat Inn in Sprotbrough, Doncaster, had to escape flood water in November 2019 after the River Don overtopped.

Refurbishment, national lockdowns and tier restrictions have kept the pub closed ever since.

The 33-year-old said it had been an "unbelievably difficult" period.

"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster," general manager Ms Bell said.

"The flooding was quite traumatic and then knowing all the hard work myself and the team and put in just kind of got lost like that overnight was terrible."

• Read full story here

BBC Breakfast

Non-essential shops are also looking forward to welcoming customers back to their sites under today's rule changes in England.

Rachel Crockett, of lifestyle shop Nichols & Co in Chester, tells BBC Breakfast: "We're very excited to be open today. While we've been closed we have developed our own online site... but the most important thing to be is open as a shop because that is the shopping experience people want to have."

She says she's eager both for the return of regular customers that "like to come in for a chat as well as buying", and to meet new people as well.

"The sort of lifetyle boutique that we are there is something in here for everyone," she says.

Rachel adds that the shop is still implementing social distancing, minimising the amount of people per floor and steam-cleaning and quarantining clothes, if a customer would like to try on an item.

"It's a priority for us to make sure people feel safe when they're shopping with us," she says.

Image source, PA Media

A record number of second doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered on Saturday, latest government figures show.

Some 475,230 second doses were given in the UK, as well as 111,109 first doses.

So far, more than 32 million first doses and more than 7.4 million second doses have been given.

Image source, PA Media

Beauty therapists have wasted little time ushering in today's easing of lockdown restrictions across England as long-awaited hair and beauty treatments began when the clock struck twelve.

One of the beauty companies delivering midnight services was Secret Spa, which offers at-home salon and spa treatments across London, Manchester and Brighton.

At the stroke of midnight, co-owner Emily Ewart-Perks, alongside hair stylist Nas Ganev and tan artist Magdelaine Gibson, visited a home in Balham, south London to offer their services to clients Amy Pallister and Isabella Robinson.

"It's so amazing. It's just been such a long time coming," Ms Ewart-Perks said. "I know that our therapists are just so happy to be working with clients again."

Image source, PA Media

For Ms Ewart-Perks, the reopening announcement was initially met with a measure of apprehension.

But speaking to PA media, she said it was a surge in demand that had prompted the team to offer midnight services.

"We realised we had quite a few regular clients who we weren't able to book in on the first day back, so we thought 'why don't we open the first moment we can?'

Ms Pallister, who received the first hair cut of the day, said the return of beauty services could not have come sooner.

"[The haircut] feels amazing, I can't stop touching it," she said.

"I'm very impatient, so I didn't want to wait. [I booked it] as soon as they could fit me in."

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people to "behave responsibly" as further Covid restrictions are eased around the country.

It's been more than three months since England entered its third lockdown on 6 January.

The PM said the rule relaxations were "a major step forward in our road map to freedom".

"I'm sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else it's a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love and have missed," he said in a statement.

"I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme."

Seven further deaths were reported in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test on Sunday, as the number of people dying continues to fall steadily.

It is the lowest daily death toll by this measure since 14 September 2020.

However, there can be a lag in reporting coronavirus statistics during weekends.

Meanwhile, 1,730 new cases were recorded.

Anna Collinson
Health Correspondent

As restrictions are eased, infections are expected to rise.

The government argues that the UK is in a strong position - with almost 40 million combined first and second vaccine doses now administered.

It doesn't view the reopening of non-essential shops and beer gardens as particularly risky - as long as people stick to the rules.

However, there are some scientists who fear today's relaxation has come too soon and they are concerned about virus hotspots in the East Midlands and parts of Yorkshire.

There are strict criteria that must be met before moving to the next stage of easing lockdown restrictions, including the continued success of the vaccine rollout and protecting the NHS from being overwhelmed with cases.

The next stage will be the planned return of indoor mixing and foreign travel from 17 May at the earliest - and it's these steps that are expected to pose the greater risk.

Image source, Getty Images

The devolved nations have their own timeline of when restrictions will ease.

Here's what you can do in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from today:

• In Wales, shops can reopen, close-contact services can resume, as can driving lessons, and travel in and out of the country from the rest of the UK is now allowed. All students will return to face-to-face teaching

• In Scotland, all school pupils are returning to school full time. However, not everyone is returning on Monday because differing term times mean some schools are still closed for the Easter holidays
• In Northern Ireland, the "stay-at-home" order is ending and up to 10 people from two households will be able to meet in a private garden. The remaining school year groups 8-11 will also return to the classroom

Image source, Getty Images

From today, under the next stage of lockdown easing in England, people can visit non-essential stores and get a haircut.

Here's a list of what the rule changes include:

• All shops can reopen
• Hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services can open
• Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors
• Gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres can all open
• Members of the same household can take a holiday in England in self-contained accommodation
• Up to 15 people can attend weddings and 30 can attend funerals
• Children can attend any indoor children's activity
• Care home visitors will increase to two per resident
• Driving lessons can resume, with tests restarting on 22 April.

You can read more about the rule changes here.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s a round-up of the main headlines:

• Non-essential shops, hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens can reopen in England today, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people to "behave responsibly" and keep taking steps to suppress the virus
• Shops are also reopening in Wales, while Northern Ireland's "stay-at-home" order is ending and all school pupils are returning to school full time in Scotland and Wales, after Easter holidays finish
• A record number of coronavirus second doses were given in the UK on Saturday, latest government figures show, with 475,230 second jabs administered
• A further seven UK deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were reported on Sunday, the lowest daily total since 14 September
• Police say they "deeply" regret causing hurt after officers shut down a Good Friday service in south London