Sport and socialising outdoors are set to be among the first activities to be allowed when schools return next month.

Government plans to release the UK from lockdown in the spring will prioritise open air venues and give an indicator on when hard hit retail and hospitality businesses can return once kids are back in the classroom, The Times reports.

Outdoor activity is likely to be allowed first, which would pave the the way for the return of sports such as golf and tennis, as well as some limited social gatherings outside.

This could be possible within weeks of a planned return of schools from March 8, it is understood.

Kent's outdoor markets in places such as Maidstone, Gravesend and Rochester will also be green lighted to return before high street shops, and al-fresco dining before indoor outlets at venues such as Bluewater,

Government sources told the newspaper that the plans were “tentative”, and that only the date for the earliest return of pupils had been agreed.

Rigorous requirements on pubs to serve a "substantial meal" alongside alcoholic drinks are also set to be relaxed in a simplification of the rules decreed by the Prime Minister.

A new set of indicators to be used to judge whether England can move to the next stage of the release is being prepared.

But it is understood the Prime Minister is said to be keen to avoid to a return to regional tier system which saw Kent and Medway placed into the highest tier.

It follows mounting pressure from Conservative MPs to ease lockdown restrictions quickly as figures show pressure on the NHS is starting to ease.

Yesterday some senior scientists indicated Britain could see some level of normality return in the summer following wider rollout of vaccines to priority groups.

Figures released by NHS England show that, as of January 31, nearly 260,000 people in the county had received their first jab.

More than 60% of Kent's top four priority groups have been vaccinated against Covid-19 - with hopes growing that all will receive jabs by February 15.

The government has pledged to vaccinate the top four groups by mid-February, as part of the NHS's biggest immunisation programme in history.

Concerns have previously been raised over whether the supply can keep up with demand.

But speaking this week, several doctors in east Kent said they felt optimistic the February 15 target would be reached, providing there were no issues with the supply.

A group of 70 lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs, have pushed that the government should “get rid of restrictions completely” once all over-50s had received at least one vaccine jab, potentially by the end of May.

But senior NHS chiefs have warned against the swift upending of restrictions for fears that hospitals still have thousands more Covid-19 patients than last April

They say attempts to restart routine care would be set back by another round of widespread infections.

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