'It's like Christmas Day: Joy for Salopians as non-essential shops, pub beer gardens and hairdressers reopen

Town centres were full to the brim with excited shoppers treating themselves to a bit of well-earned retail therapy after four months of cold and misery, hair salons and nail bars were buzzing with positive vibes and drinkers made a tentative return to their favourite local pubs.

It's been a long old lockdown, but this week is a cause for celebration as we can enjoy a few more of our freedoms and support the businesses we love.

One hair salon boss described it as "like Christmas Day", and admitted she barely slept due to the excitement of reopening.

Rizzo hairdresssing in Wellington welcomed customers back, and manager Debbie Hinton said: "I was up all night. It really does feel like Christmas. We've prioritised our regulars for the first appointments. It's lovely to be back. A lot has gone into getting ready." She said some customers had sent pictures of their failed home hairdressing attempts, and added: "Some have asked for advice on how to do things. We just said 'no' and wait to come back."

Debbie's daughter Jayde, who runs Rizzo in Shrewsbury, added: "A lot of the clients have been coming here since I was a child and we've missed seeing them."

First customer of the day was Meg Thompson, of Telford. She was due to have her hair done the day before lockdown. "As soon as they asked me I was straight in," she said. "I tried to do my own fringe but I think it's best left to the professionals."

Another client, Katerina Pool, was celebrating her birthday with a fresh trim. The retired nurse, who has been helping with vaccinations at Telford International Centre, said: "This is my birthday treat. I've been coming here for two years. They are really friendly and the staff are very good."

Kayleigh Crowton, who runs her nail business from Rizzo, was giving Caroline Garbett her first post lockdown polish. She said: "It's been a really long wait. I'm so glad to be back. Being on furlough has been hard, I think it is especially hard when your work is something that you love and have worked years for." Caroline added: "This is my little treat. These are luxuries that we haven't had."

Shrewsbury was extremely busy, with queues for Primark snaking round from the entrance to the lifts. Pride Hill was also full of shoppers, though the overwhelming majority were sensible and maintaining social distancing. River Waters, 19, who was out and about with pals Samantha and William Gunn, thought it seemed like a pre-Covid day in the town centre.

"We've come into town to look around the charity shops," she said. "We think they are much more interesting than the normal shops.

"This is like a normal pre-Covid day," she added. Samantha said: "I thought it might actually be busier."

Scope volunteer Diana Forrest raided DVD Megastore in Shrewsbury's new independent precinct The Collective, in the Darwin shopping centre. She said: "I was in town a couple of times last week to do a few bits at the charity shop, but this is something else. It's the first day back so I was expecting it to be busy. I'm looking forward to going round the clothes shops."

Sisters Elain and Awel Jones, from Llangadwyn, near Welshpool, took a long-awaited trip into Shrewsbury for the shops. Healthcare worker Elain said: "I've just come to spend all my money and make myself happy. We came into town at about 10am and it wasn't that busy but it's a lot busier now. We've been to H&M and Primark, but the queues at Primark are so long."

Many of the pubs saw a steady return of customers, which will have been just how they would like it, given the madness of "Super Saturday" - when the first lockdown ended last summer.

Drinkers and staff at The Brooklands in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury, were all smiles as they became reacquainted for the first time in months.

Regulars Sharon and Phillip Price, of Bayston Hill, were two of the first customers back. Phillip enjoyed a pint of Carling, while Sharon partook in a rum and blackcurrant. Breathing a joy-filled sigh after his first sip, Phillip said: "That's better than the stuff I've been having at home." Sharon added: "This is a massive boost for us. We've self-isolated for a long time so we've really missed it. This is such a communtiy pub. It's a like a big family here so it's lovely to see everyone again."

Landlord James Hopkins was thrilled to see some of his regulars again, but said: "I think we'll be busier tomorrow and it will build up over the next 10 days. Quite a few people have messaged me saying we're coming to see you, but we might leave it on Monday. We're really glad to be back. I haven't known what to do with myself." Several part of the pub have had a new coat of paints as staff try and make it as welcoming as possible for customers.

Pubs now have to get details of every single customer for track and trace purposes, rather than just one member of a group, or face a fine of up to £1,000. James raised concerns over that, and ambiguity over some of the new rules, but is overwhelmingly pleased to be back. "It's what we've all been waiting for," he said.