Garden centres in Dorset were preparing to reopen today following the government announcement to begin reducing lockdown restrictions.

Groves Nurseries in Bridport, Little Groves in Beaminster, Dobbies Garden Centre in Owermoigne, Poundbury Gardens in Dorchester and Castle Gardens in Sherborne were among those opening their doors after being closed for weeks.

Several measures are being put in place including a restriction on the amount of people allowed in at one time.

*Groves will not be opening until 10am to allowed the team a couple of hours in the morning to prepare for the day, water plants and process home delivery and click and collect orders.

*Groves in Bridport will be open seven days a week. Little Groves will only be open 10am until 4pm Tuesday until Saturday.

*Please park in the car parks at the back of the garden centre. Only the 'new' entrance at the back of the shop will be in use. The top car parks will be used for click and collect and bulk goods collection.

*There will be a limit on the number of customers allowed in the store at any one time. This may vary depending on how customers spread around the site. You may have to queue outside the entrance whist waiting for others to finish their shopping.

*There are limited the number of parking spaces for this same reason. Only park in the designated spaces.

*You will be asked to wash or sanitise your hands before entering.

*Only two people per household in the centre at any one time.

*For the time being no dogs are allowed in, only assistance dogs.

*There is a one-way system in the shop. Please follow this when shopping.

*Please remember to stay 2m from others, including members of the Groves team.

*All garden furniture has been relocated into Ivy House to allow the tills to be spread out. There are now have four separated till lanes. Please chose a till lane that has the smallest queue.

*For the time being Groves is only accepting card payments. The contactless limit has been increased to £45 so you can pay for more items without using the pin pad.

*Only four people will be allowed in the pet area and six in Ivy House (for garden furniture and barbecues) at any one time.

*Ivy House is closed as a restaurant.

*There will be no public toilet facilities available.