Driving instructors across town will be getting back behind the wheel today as further government easing means lessons can begin again.

And one of those heading back out with her pupils is 53-year-old Barbara Grillo, who runs the Driving Me Bananas driving school in Swindon.

Barbara, or Babs as she is known, has been busy putting a number of preparations in place for the restart.

She said: “To start with, we’ll be making extra phone calls the day before and the day of a lesson to make sure there’s no changes to their health or anyone they’ve been in contact with.

“When I pick up my pupils, I have ordered a no-touch thermometer, so I can take temperatures to ensure that they’re safe and so am I, and so are all the other pupils that will be sharing the car.

“There will probably be a lot of nervous pupils so any discussions will be done outside of the car to reduce the amount of time we’re sitting in stationary.”

After Babs arrives to pick up her students, she will wipe down the seat and steering wheel with disinfectant. Then after the lesson the student will have to do the same.

Babs added: “Face masks will have to be worn even though we’ll be having the windows open for ventilation as an extra safety.

“Obviously if it’s chucking it down, I’m not convinced I’ll be wanting the car soaked so we’ll have to cross that bridge when it comes down to it. But if face masks are being worn then we should be okay.

“There’s lots of 'should' and 'possible' because it’s going into the unknown.”

One of the other changes Babs has had to make to her lessons is the amount of time people can spend in the car.

She explained: “It used to be 90-minute lessons but now the majority will be an hour.

“The guidelines are trying to keep more than a meter apart and you’re at a higher risk if you’re that close proximity for more than 15 minutes. If I’m with them for an hour then that risk goes up for all concerned.”

Even though Babs hasn’t been teaching for three months, she has still had enquiries from new students.

But she says her priority is those who were stopped by lockdown.

Babs said: “I’ve got to get the pupils who suddenly had lessons stopped so they are back in the diary first thing. They’re my first priority.

“I’ve had enquires from new starters and now it’s just a case of making sure we can keep everybody safe.”