MORE than a third of people in Brighton do not trust social distancing in shops, bars and restaurants, according to a new study.

When asked how they felt about visiting shops, pubs and restaurants, 25 per cent of Brighton residents said they were “not very confident” in social distancing practices while a further 10 per cent said they were “not at all confident”, in research carried out by the phs Group.

It puts Brighton residents seventh in the list of regions where people are most concerned about social distancing. The study also showed 17 per cent of those in the city are “not very confident” in hygiene measures.

David Taylor-Smith, CEO of phs Group, said: “Even though we’re seeing reasonably high reopen rates for organisations, the real story is that people – staff, visitors and customers – have not yet returned with research indicating that concerns about not being able to adhere to Covid-19 safety measures are holding people back from returning to the places they would normally visit.

“It remains to be seen how many more people will return in the coming months as the pandemic, new restrictions and risk of future local lockdowns play out.

“In the interim, the only solution for organisations is to instil indisputable staff and consumer confidence in their premises, reassuring people that everything is being done to ensure their premises is as safe as possible.”