People queued to get into nightclubs as the remaining coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England at midnight.

Excited revellers eager for a dance described the midnight reopening as “like New Year”.

The lifting of restrictions allows venues such as nightclubs to finally welcome back patrons, but Boris Johnson has urged people to exercise their new freedoms with caution.

Face masks are no longer mandatory in shops and on most public transport, while limits on gathering have gone and the work from home guidance has ended.

Nightclubs, theatres and restaurants can fully reopen, while pubs are no longer restricted to table service only.

In the capital, the Tower of London reopened after its longest closure since the Second World War.

In Scotland, the easing of travel restrictions meant those who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine no longer have to self-isolate on return from an amber list country.

Social-distancing rules have governed people’s lives for more than a year in one form or another.

However, the lifting of the rules in England meant plenty of people could gather to greet the Prince of Wales on a visit to Exeter Cathedral.