Holidays are still banned despite coronavirus lockdown restrictions being eased, the Government has said.

A document published by the Cabinet Office said staying overnight at a location other than the place you live “for a holiday or other purpose is not allowed”. This includes visiting second homes.

From Wednesday, people in England have permission to travel to “outdoor open space irrespective of distance”.

But the Cabinet Office said “premises such as hotels and bed and breakfasts will remain closed” unless they are being used for special circumstances such as providing accommodation for critical workers.

Boris Johnson told the daily Downing Street press conference on Monday that people should not travel to UK beauty spots to stay for long periods of time.

Asked by Alex from the Lake District if there would be a limit on how far people could travel for their daily exercise, the Prime Minister, said: “What we’re saying is we want people to be able to use the outdoors, to be able to exercise in an unlimited way outdoors, but they’ve got to obey social distancing.

“So there can’t be any question of people just going off for holidays for staying in places like the Lake District.”

Locals living in Cumbria have raised concerns about the area being inundated with tourists as people take advantage of the “unlimited daily exercise” announcement.

The area, home to the Lake District National Park, saw 47 million visitors in 2018, according to Cumbria Tourism.

Assistant Chief Constable of Cumbria Police Andrew Slattery said: “What we are saying is, please don’t visit the Lake District yet. The Lake District is not yet ready to receive a large number of visitors, the tourism industry is largely closed down, there are no pubs open, restaurants open, public toilets open.

“This is not just the police saying this, this is the National Parks Authority, Cumbria Tourism are saying this, ‘Please stay away’.

“We have people living in small towns and rural communities who are really afraid.

“We were expecting small, incremental changes to the lockdown this week. Unfortunately one measure he (Boris Johnson) announced will have a significant effect for Cumbria and other similar areas.

“He talked about the ability to drive out to different areas. That seems innocuous, but if people turn up in large numbers, that will have a real impact on local communities suffering some of the highest infection rates.”

Mr Slattery said his officers will continue to encourage people to follow the rules, and will be expected to enforce the rules on social distancing, if necessary.

Asked whether people could rent self-catering holiday homes for “staycation” holidays in this period, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “No, the rules allow for you to make visits to enjoy parks or something with pleasure status but you can’t stay overnight.”

Places of accommodation will reopen as part of step three of England’s recovery strategy, which will not begin earlier than July 4.

Premises will be required to meet “Covid-19 secure” guidelines to minimise the risk of infection.