Closed since Christmas Eve due to COVID-19 restrictions, The Light cinema in New Brighton cinema has confirmed it will reopen on Friday, May 21.

The reopening will take place as long as the government is able to proceed with the next stage in its roadmap, which is due to happen on Monday, May 17.

The rule changes will see the Rule of Six brought in for indoor gatherings, and indoor hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be allowed to reopen as long as they stick to the Rule of Six and other social distancing measures.

Keith Pullinger, co-founder of The Light group, which has 10 cinemas across the country, said the New Brighton cinema was "ready to go".

He added: "We're excited. It's been a difficult year for everyone in our team and our customers have missed the cinema."

Of the films The Light will be showing Mr Pullinger said: "In the build up to half-term we'll be showing Peter Rabbit 2, that will excite a lot of families.

"We also have a programme of films released while we were closed including Nomadland and Godzilla vs Kong."

Mr Pullinger confirmed that the cinema will maintain social distancing measures from Friday, May 21.

He said: "The measures will be the same as when we opened at the the end of last year.

"We will have social distancing measures in place and we will only sell a portion of the seats at each screen.

"People will be required to wear face coverings which can be removed while eating or drinking.

"We had lots of positive feedback on this last year, but the rules will be reviewed by the government in June and some restrictions may be released by then."

The final stage of the government's roadmap is due to begin on June 21 and it is set to remove all legal restrictions on social gatherings.

However, the full details of this final stage have not yet been released and the government has not yet confirmed that this stage will commence on June 21.