Freedom Day is here — and one of the worst-hit sectors of the UK’s economy is looking to recover form the damage that lockdown caused.

Some clubs in North Cumbria are opening up again and going back to normal, despite Covid cases surging.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the public for care and ‘prudence and respect for other people and the risks that the disease continues to present’.

Andrea Brannelly, the landlady at the Anchor Vaults in Whitehaven, said: “It’s totally back to normal here.

“We are not doing any table service any more.

“Of course, if people want to wear masks they can, and they can socially distance, it’s their choice.

“We are not enforcing anything here though, although they can still sign in on track and trace if they so wish.”

Also in Whitehaven, The Yellow Earl is a bar and restaurant that offers live music entertainment sometimes, and is looking forward to the easing of restrictions.

Lucy Graham, who works there, said: “It is just back to normal here, although we have loads of hand sanitiser everywhere still, I think that is the one thing that we are keeping here, although it is certainly not a restriction as far as we are concerned.

“A little bit like it was before Covid, we are having some concerts.

“We have an acoustic performer, and then we are hosting a Foo Fighters tribute band who are performing a standing gig just like how gigs used to be before the lockdown, and there will be no social distancing.”

While a lot of bars were able to stay open during the pandemic with strict restrictions in place, it wasn’t the case especially for nightclubs and adult entertainment venues.

Mike Tudor, who runs the lapdancing bar Rouge in Carlisle, said: “We are opening up this week, but we still have a lot of things we need to be careful for. We were closed since lockdown was officially announced for the first time, March 20, and haven’t been open at all since then.

“It’s difficult to have dancers on stage and interacting with customers when Covid restrictions are in place.”