Brits WON’T have to order a ‘substantial meal’ as beer gardens and outside restaurants are opened by Easter

BRITS will be able to enjoy a pint without a “substantial meal” and the 10pm curfew will be scrapped when the hospitality sector reopens.

And pubs and restaurants will be able to serve outdoors by Easter if Covid cases continue to fall.

Hospitality had been earmarked to reopen in May, with only takeaway pints allowed in April.

But that has now been sped up in a major boost to the blighted sector.

A wider reopening for limited indoor mixing in pubs and restaurants is still planned for May.

And No10 plans to allow the hospitality sector to re-open without many of the draconian measures in place before lockdown, according to MailOnline.

Boris Johnson wants to ditch the complicated red tape, which proved virtually unenforceable and left punters and landlords alike confused.

Last year the rules around pubs caused chaos as ministers struggled to clearly define what constituted a substantial meal.

Michael Gove memorably declared that a scotch egg would suffice, while some watering holes got away with serving tiny bowls of chips with a pint.

But the harsh rule will be scrapped this time round along with the time restriction which saw pubs clear the house by 10pm.

However, it is likely the “rule of six” limits and two-metre distancing will stay all summer as a compromise for the early reopening.

The rules will be applied nationwide after ministers decided not to return to the regional system of tiers when they lift restrictions.

Meanwhile Brits will be able to meet up with a friend to have a coffee on a park bench and even enjoy a picnic in the first easing of the Covid lockdown on March 8, it has been reported.

Senior government sources claimed the outdoor activities will be the first to get the green light next month – followed by sports such as golf and tennis – as the UK finally begins to lift restrictions.

Park bench coffees and picnics will be able to be enjoyed with anyone from your own household or with one other person, reports The Telegraph.

However, households will still not be allowed to mix inside or outside with anyone else.