At last, it’s the Glorious 12th! Thirsty drinkers rush to pubs in the snow at midnight

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Hardy English drinkers shrugged off blizzards today to enjoy a pint in sub-zero beer gardens as the country celebrated the ‘Glorious Twelfth’ in style – as sprawling queues formed outside shops, gyms, hairdressers and tourist attractions from 6am. 

Temperatures dipping to -3C overnight and snow flurries across much of the south failed to call a halt to celebrations, with patrons sharing toasts in outdoor seating areas moments after midnight. 

The deepest snowfall in England was at Little Rissington in Gloucestershire, which recorded 1.5inches (4cm), while in Wales  drifts reached 2.7in (7cm). 

There will be plenty of sun around today but revellers will need to wrap up warm, with average midday temperatures ranging from 12C (53.6F) in Cornwall and 10C (50F) in London. 

Meanwhile, the excitement of lockdown easing got too much for some, with scuffles breaking out at Foot Locker on Oxford Street while a security guard watched on with a guard dog. 

Police were called to control crowds outside Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester, where shouts of ‘why are you pushing?’ and ‘move back!’ could be heard as staff struggled to enforce social distancing. 

Earlier, shoppers were seen waiting outside the venue on camping chairs to ensure they were first in line for purchases – as an Ikea in Bristol saw 1,000 customers lining up outside.   

Twitter users today poked fun at their eagerness to grab a drink despite the cold, with one posting hilarious memes of snowmen sitting in a beer garden. 

As of Saturday afternoon, 32,010,244 Britons had received the first dose of the vaccination, with a further 6,991,310 having had their second, as the UK recorded 1,730 new Covid cases – down a quarter on last week.

Despite the promising figures, Boris Johnson last night urged people to ‘behave responsibility’ as they make the most of the new rules. Meanwhile, the Met and Northumbria Police sent extra patrols into city centres to prepare for the deluge of revellers. 

The vaccine programme coupled with the ‘palpable sense of excitement’ is expected to make this post-lockdown reopening the strongest yet, with customers are predicted to spend £4.5billion this week. 

More than half of hospitality businesses that are opening have splashed out to make outdoor areas bigger, spending an average of £9,040 on each venue, according to industry group UKHospitality. 

Pubs have been flooded with bookings, with the British Beer and Pub Association predicting the nation will get through 15million pints this week. Footfall analysts Springboard are expecting a near 50% uplift during the first week.

In other Covid news – 

• People in their 40s will be invited for Covid jabs from tomorrow after the Government hit its target on vaccinations for priority groups;
• Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in infectious disease modelling at the University of Warwick and government adviser, welcomed opening but warned up uptick in cases;  
• Kate Garraway revealed her children are ‘absolutely loving’ having their father Derek home after his long Covid battle;
• England footballers James Maddison and Harvey Barnes were among five Leicester City players who ‘hid in the dark after manager Brendan Rogers caught them at a Covid lockdown-flouting party’;
• Officers apologised to churchgoers after shutting down their Good Friday service for breaking Covid lockdown rules;
• Students’ university comeback was delayed until mid-May amid fears mass return to lecture halls could spark a huge spike in Covid cases.

Customers cheered as the first pints were served at the UK’s biggest pub on Monday after coronavirus restrictions were eased.

Pippa Ingram, 51, and Sue Bell, 55, were presented with the first drinks on a chilly morning in Ramsgate, Kent at the Royal Victoria Pavilion, believed to be the largest in the country.

As the pints were brought to their table Ms Ingram celebrated getting a drink ‘from a proper pub!’

She added: ‘Absolutely delicious. It’s not gonna last long at all! That is banging.’ 

Trainer shops proved to be particularly popular today with long queues forming before they even opened.

Scores of youngsters started gathering outside Foot Locker on Oxford Street from 7am with the store forced to open earlier than it’s initial scheduled time of 10am.

Security had to be brought in after scuffles broke out with enthusiastic shoppers eager to get in.

One security guard who was standing by the store with a guard dog told MailOnline: ‘We’ve had some scuffles and people banging on the windows of the store.

‘It’s mainly kids who are after a particular brand of trainers. But there is a lot of excitement that the shops have reopened. Hopefully the novelty of it will soon wear off.’ 

Simeon Banks, 22 who had just purchased two pairs of Nike Jordan’s said: ‘I collect and resell trainers. While I do it online I prefer going into shops to touch and feel them.

‘I’m happy that the shops have opened because it’s more fun buying trainers in person.’

In Manchester, some desperate shoppers queued from 4am as they tried to get their hands on bargains.

There was a large police presence in the city centre, including a police van parked at the top of Market Street and four officers outside M&S.

One 17-year-old, who only gave his name as Alexander, was first in the queue at Size? shoe shop.

He told MailOnline: ‘I want to get some Nike trainers. There’s only a few going and there’s a restock going on. I really want them.’

There were also similar queues outside Foot Locker.

Student Simon Smith, 19, said: ‘I want to get some trainers. It’s pretty mad there’s so many people in the queue. There must be nearly 100 people waiting to get in.’

Primark shopper Kelly Ward, 20, had also queued from 7am to get some pajamas and slippers.

The student said: ‘I have been so looking forward to this day. It’s feels like such a treat to go shopping again.

‘I have missed it so much. I was so excited this morning.’   

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said it was a ‘big day’ for reopening businesses, and that many were ‘excited and desperate’ to welcome customers back.

‘It’s a big day for the country and it’s a big day for all of these businesses reopening their doors today,’ she told Sky News.

‘They are very excited and desperate to welcome their customers back (with) the focus on safety.’

Ms Dickinson said that retailers were now used to preparing to reopen their doors, having experienced the process during previous lockdowns, but added that customers also had a ‘part to play’.

‘Because they’ve been through this process before… they would have been ready the last week or the week before, and are just keen and enthusiastic to welcome us back,’ she said.

‘Members of the public have a part to play in following the signage, the guidance that we get given queueing if we need to… and all of the safety features that are in place. We have a role too.’

One of the first shops to re-open along London’s Oxford Street, traditionally one of the busiest shopping areas in the country, was Primark, which started letting in customers at 7am.

Jessica Palmerston, 35 from Walthamstow, East London who arrived at the popular store soon after it opened for business told MailOnline: ‘I have been waiting for Primark to reopen for the past three months.

‘I hate shopping online, I love going into this shop because it’s a real buzz when you see the latest fashions and people getting excited about clothes.’

She revealed that she had bought an assortment of socks, underwear and tee-shirts for herself and her children.

Ms Palmerston added: ‘Pri-Mani is the best and it’s wonderful to be able to return here. There’s nothing like filling up your basket with lots of treats; we deserve it because we’ve suffered enough.’

Nala Bee, 25 arrived at the store with her friend Ryan C.

She said: ‘We got up at 7am to get here before it gets too busy. I’ve really missed the shops not being open. I hate online shopping. I love going shopping, try things on and have a bit of fun. It’s my therapy, it’s what makes me happy.

‘I’m after socks and jumpers and am going to buy as much as I can because during this lockdown, I’ve managed to save a bit of money.’

Lesley Black, 47 who was accompanied by her daughter Demi, 20 said: ‘Between us we’ve spent about £200 on underwear and pyjamas.

‘It feels wonderful to be back in the shops and we’re going to spend the whole day shopping. Both of us love spending a day at the shops and we’ve really missed it during the lockdown. Luckily, I’ve got some money saved so I now plan to spend it all.’

Sue Donnelly, 67, a property manager from Northampton, spent £500 on bedding and clothes and carried out seven huge bulging bags from the flagship Primark store on Oxford Street, central London. She estimates it would have cost around £2,000 if it was not for the discounted prices. 

‘I own a lot of properties that I wanted to get bedding for and I reckon I saved around 70 per cent with the discounts. ‘I spent about £500 – it would have normally cost £2,000. 

She said: ‘I was here at 7am when it opened because you know that if I had turned up in the afternoon then all of this would have been gone. ‘You can’t shop Primark online so today was the best day to do it. 

Nicki Butler, 26 from Tottenham, North London who had just purchased some jogging bottoms and a blouse said: ‘Money has been a bit tight, so it’s been hard to afford the delivery charges, which is why I haven’t done much online shopping.

‘Nothing beats walking into a shop, looking around and trying on clothes. I’ve really missed getting my retail therapy.’

John Ferguson, 33 who had just purchased two pairs of socks and some underpants said: ‘I work as a security guard in the West End and had just finished a night shift so thought I’d pop in early before it gets too busy.

‘It’s good for the economy that shops have reopened but we just have to make sure everything is Covid secure because I don’t want to see the country in another lockdown. Today feels really great because it’s a sign that life is slowly returning to normal.’ 

Shanti Bhardwaj, who was with her two children said that they had decided to come to the West End to enjoy some shopping after spending ‘months locked up.’

She said: ‘I know online shopping is very popular but there’s nothing like having a day out at the shops.

‘The kids are on their Easter holidays, so we thought we’d have a day out in Central London shopping and doing other nice things. It feels as if we’ve been let out of prison and it’s wonderful to be able to start doing normal things again.’

She added: ‘We plan to get some lunch a bit later and will hopefully find a nice place where we can sit outdoors.’ 

Cleaner Georgina Okie, 48, queued for 45 minutes to be one of the first to shop in Primark in Manchester city centre.

She said: ‘I am so happy the shops are open. It feels like the first step back to normality. I was desperate to come and shop and buy some jeans. I felt really safe.’ 

Student Natasha Larkin, 17, queued to spend £15 on gym wear and shorts at Primark. 

he said: ‘It feels great to just walk into a shop and buy something. I have missed it so much. It gives you something to do. It feels a great day ‘. 

At specialist hair and beauty salon Strand & Lock in the Custard Factory in the heart of Birmingham’s creative quarter in Digbeth, staff welcomed their first customer in months.

 Amy Smith – who had not been to a stylist since before the original lockdown last year – said she was ‘thrilled’ to be back at a salon and said bookings were ‘absolutely full to the rafters’. 

‘It’s great to be here, I’ve been going with this weird little top knot for a few months now,’ she said.

‘I’m going to a go to a beer garden experience later, so it’s going to be good.’ 

It came as Boris Johnson declared today ‘a major step towards freedom’ but warned people to behave carefully. 

‘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. 

‘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.’ 

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

Today marks the first time salons and hairdressers are able to treat customers since the third national lockdown was legally imposed in England on January 6.

Pub gardens and restaurants are now also allowed to welcome customers, along with indoor gyms, swimming pools and shops deemed non-essential.

One of the beauty companies delivering midnight services was Secret Spa, which offers at-home salon and spa treatments at home 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 long-awaited 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.

‘Everyone has really missed the social contact of the day-to-day job and making clients happy. We haven’t been able to do that for the best part of five-to-six months.’

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

She said: ‘When Boris (Johnson) made the announcement that close contact beauty therapy could go ahead, I think a lot of people had been waiting for the news, just to be 100% sure, because the last reopening from lockdown we were given dates and then the dates were delayed.

‘It was kind of staggered. 

‘It was hair first, then treatments to the body, and we had to wait ages for treatments to the face. So we had to do a lot of cancelling and moving appointments on that lockdown reopening. 

‘So I think people were very nervous (this time around), and when it was confirmed we just saw a surge of bookings.’ 

It was that surge in demand which prompted Ms Ewart-Perks 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?’

‘And then we’re filling a lot of people in at dawn – a lot of 6am haircuts. Which is amazing, because people are going to have their hair cut and blowdried and then they can get on a Zoom call.

‘The first day back is going to be double our best-ever day to date. I can’t believe we’re here.’

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. ‘(It’s been) about seven or eight months, since my last one, so I had some very split ends. I’m very impatient, so I didn’t want to wait. (I booked it) as soon as they could fit me in.’

With her hair now in order, Ms Pallister said her personal celebration of lockdown easing has only just begun.

She said: ‘A bit of self-care and pampering definitely makes you feel better, so I’m really looking forward to getting back into the pub gardens and feeling a bit more like myself, rather than being cooped up indoors.

‘I’ve got an excuse to get my nails done and put my makeup on and just enjoy life a bit more now. I’m also hoping my new haircut will get me a date. I’ve been single for a long time now, so I reckon it’ll help.’ 

Marika Smith, general manager of Hough End Leisure Centre, Withington, Manchester, says she ‘has not slept the last two nights’ in anticipation of reopening.

The centre joined thousands of gyms and indoor exercise spaces opening on Monday as the country enters step two of England’s road map out of lockdown.

It is the third time the leisure centre has reopened after being closed due to Government restrictions, but staff feel confident they can stay open safely and consistently.

Ms Smith said: ‘To keep people safe, we took best practice from our previous restarts, this is the third reopening for ourselves, so such things as one-way systems, cleaning stations, cleaning regimes, cashless, bookings only by the app, so only pre-booked sessions allowed.

‘All of the swimming is fully booked, you can’t get on any, and the same for the busy parts of this evening, 6-7 o’clock, is fully booked.

‘We have had quite a big uptake of new people coming to the centre, which I think could be down to people realising that they have spent a lot of time at home and just wanting to get out and about and doing something.

‘Its also great for mental health as well, it is hugely important for gyms to be open because not only does it have great physical benefits, it helps people’s mental health as well.’

John Martin, owner of the Dough & Brew restaurant in Warwick, said he was looking forward to opening their outdoor covered terrace on Monday.

He said: ‘Obviously it’s great to be taking another step closer to some kind of normality and it will be great to have customers with us in our covered outdoor area.

‘The past year has been incredibly hard, having to adjust to constant changes and uncertainty, trying to come up with new ideas and still provide the great food and service that we’re known for.

‘We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone back and just hope that there will be some patience for us as we adjust to an influx of people after a long period of only running a takeaway service, as well as all the new rules.’  

For many venues today will be the first revenue since England’s January 5 lockdown. The unpredictable weather remained the number one worry. 

There is also confusion among landlords who have been told their outdoor seating does not qualify as outdoors according to government guidance.

Shelters and temporary structures must have half the walls open at all times to count as outdoors.

But local councils are interpreting the rules differently leaving some landlords and restaurant owners in the lurch on the eve of their supposed reopening. 

One landlord has been told his walled garden pub cannot reopen despite having taken more than 1,000 bookings.

Another publican in Brighton told The Telegraph he was ‘devastated’ that his pub could not reopen even though it has a substantial outdoor space. 

But other landlords are excited for the influx of customers despite reservations about the weather.   

Henry Cripps, from the Three Oaks pub in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘We realise that almost everything for the next five weeks is weather dependent so we have everything crossed for sun. We couldn’t wait to see our regulars, so we have invested heavily in our garden.’

Some restrictions have eased since pubs were last open. Customers will not need to order a substantial meal with alcoholic drinks and there will be no 10pm curfew. But Boris Johnson has postponed his planned celebratory pint because of Prince Philip’s death on Friday.

However, a green group has warned the rush to drink and dine outdoors will cause a spike in air pollution from gas burning patio heaters. Oliver Lord, of Environmental Defence Fund Europe, said: ‘We need to support the hospitality sector to bounce back safely and use electric heaters, which are far cleaner and more efficient.’

Hairdressers are also booked up for weeks. Joanna Hansford, 46, who runs a high-end salon in Mayfair with her mother Jo, has 2,000 clients booked in for April and was opening at 5am this morning.  

She said: ‘We’re very excited, it’s been a long lockdown and it has been a lot tougher.’ 

It came as Dr Mike Tildesley, reader in infectious disease modelling at the University of Warwick and member of the Government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), warned that any form of reopening ‘could lead to higher risk’.

Asked what the effect of reopening may have on infection rates, he told Times Radio: ‘It’s hard to tell categorically but I think we do need to remember that with any form of reopening there’s going to be more mixing, and so we might expect that that could lead to higher risk.

‘We might expect it could have a resurgence, it’s really, really important therefore that people follow the rules that are in place, with this relaxation.

‘It is great news that people can get out and go to non-essential shops, and go to pubs and restaurants and so forth, but, as I say, follow the guidelines that is still in place.’