THIS is the heartwarming moment a five-year-old girl was able to hug her grandmother for the first time in three months due to a change in the coronavirus lockdown rules.

Heidi's father, Gareth Snow, 37, filmed the emotional moment the "best friends" were reunited.

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Youngsters across the UK were able to embrace their grandparents for the first time today after a new rule starting on Saturday allowed adults living alone or a single parent with children under the age of 18, to form a "social bubble" with another household.

Heidi, from Worthing, West Sussex, was able to embrace Nana Pam because her grandmother lives alone and can now pair with one other household for support without observing social distancing rules.

“Today we have been able to reunite Nana Pam with her granddaughter and best friend Heidi,” Mr Snow told the PA news agency.

“It has been a long three months of FaceTime and doorstep hellos at a distance, which has been hard on both of them as they are usually so close.

“For those living alone this will make life so much easier – a little bit of ‘normal’.

“They can now go for a walk along the seafront, picnic in the park together… Simple things that have sadly not been possible during lockdown.”

Emily, Benjamin and Daisy, from Ashtead in Surrey, were also able to embrace their grandmother for the first time in months.

Those who live alone can visit another household indoors in their homes – even staying overnight if they wish – and they will not have to observe the previous two-metre social-distancing rule.

Boris Johnson announced the introduction of support bubbles plan on Wednesday, saying there were too many people struggling with loneliness in the lockdown.

The move comes ahead of a further easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England, with the reopening of non-essential shops on Monday.

The new rules will not be policed. The PM’s spokesman said: “It will be taken on trust and as you’ve seen already the public have shown great responsibility – they've understood what we're trying to do which is stop the transmission of the virus and I think people understand the need not to to spread this virus between multiple households and of course what people don’t want to do is pass this on to a loved one or a friend.”

Experts from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) revealed misgivings at the prospect of social bubbling.

A report of its meeting on May 13 urged “strong caution” warning it could create “significant unwanted effects” – particularly if it was introduced alongside other easing of the rules.

It said there was “significant potential risk” if larger households are allowed to bubble together – something the Government is not currently proposing.

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