Revellers refused to let stormy weather or rising Covid-19 rates ruin their Boxing Day nights out in Tier 2 areas.
Young Brits braved gale-force winds and torrential rain across the UK last night, despite coronavirus restrictions.
Glamorous party-goers were pictured cowering from the elements under coats and umbrellas in York and Liverpool, which are both under Tier 2 restrictions.
Under Tier 2 measures, people are still allowed to mingle indoors, including in public venues, as long as they are from the same household or in a 'support bubble'.
Brits in these areas can also meet people outside who are not in their household as part of the 'rule of six'.
Pubs, bars and restaurants are allowed to stay open under Tier 2 restrictions although they must follow Government guidelines.
These businesses must close if they are hit with Tier 3 measures, although they can still operate takeaway and delivery services.
The same rules apply for hospitality firms in Tier 4 areas, with large parts of the UK subjected to the tough rules on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement at 3pm on Wednesday, outlining areas of the south and east of England entering Tier 4 on Boxing Day.
He said: "From 00.01 on Boxing Day Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, those parts of Essex not yet in Tier 4, Waverley in Surrey and Hampshire including Portsmouth and Southampton but with the exception of the New Forest will all be escalated to Tier 4."
These areas join Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, Hastings and Rother in East Sussex, the rest of Essex, the rest of Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London and the rest of Surrey, which are already in Tier 4.
The following areas were also moved into Tier 3: Bristol, Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset and Swindon.
These areas join Derbyshire, County Durham, South Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, the Humber, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Tees Valley, Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, the West Midlands metropolitan county and West Yorkshire, which remain in Tier 3.
It comes as the Government battles to control the spread of a new mutant strain of coronavirus.
The variant could cause a higher mortality rate than the original variant in 2021, scientists have warned.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the increase in transmissibility of the new Covid-19 could see more people being hospitalised and eventually dying after contracting the virus.
A report - which is still preliminary and has not been peer reviewed yet - has shown that, unless more restrictions are in place, up to 118,000 people could die of Covid-19 by the summer in a worst case scenario.
But a more likely scenario, with 200,000 being vaccinated every week, would see 83,300 people dying by the end of June.
Scientists have said that the current average of 200,000 jabs being administered every week "does not have much impact".
