DOZENS of people were queueing for Primark more than an hour before it reopened this morning for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown started in March.

Non-essential retailers have been given the green light to reopen this morning, with big names in Hereford among those to welcome shoppers again.

Customers are being encouraged to go out and spend but to “be sensible” in their approach, as the Government seeks to begin reopening the economy “gradually and carefully”.

Live updates as shop reopen after an enforced three-month closure

In Hereford, shoppers were keen to get back to Primark which reopened this morning at 9am.

Some said they had been in the queue since around 8am this morning, with queues down Widemarsh Street towards the Old Market Shopping Centre.

Long lines were also seen at some of the other 153 Primark stores across England which reopen today, with dozens of keen shoppers waiting outside branches of the budget clothes store in Birmingham, Derby, Liverpool and Nottingham.

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New measures have been implemented by the chain, including limiting the number of shoppers in store, perspex screens at tills and hand sanitiser stations.

In a statement ahead of the stores lifting their shutters, the company said: “As European governments have begun to ease restrictions on clothing retailing we have been able to reopen stores.

“Safety has been our highest priority in our detailed preparations to welcome our customers and employees back to stores. We are following government safety advice in all markets.

“Importantly, we will apply the valuable experience gained from more than 100 stores which are already open as we open the remainder of our estate, including stores across the UK.

“Social distancing protocols, hand sanitiser stations, perspex screens at tills and additional cleaning of high frequency touch points in the store are among the measures we are implementing.”