BRIGHTER days are on the horizon, with the easing of coronavirus restrictions and the clocks going forward.

Even though during lockdown it can feel like time does not really exist, the clocks are set to go forward in four weeks’ time.

It means that in we can look forward to lighter evenings after a long winter.

Here is all you need to know:

When will the clocks go forward this year?

In the UK clocks go forward one hour on the last Sunday in March, this year they will go forward at 1am on March 28.

Initially we will notice slightly darker mornings, but the evenings will be lighter as the number of daylight hours continue to get longer up to the summer solstice.

Despite missing out on a precious hour of sleep, the clocks changing mark lighter nights and light at the end of the tunnel as the day after the clocks go forward, England should see an easing on lockdown restrictions.

The “rule of six” will return on March 29, along with new measures allowing two households totalling more than six people to meet – giving greater flexibility for families and friends.

Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis and basketball courts are also set to reopen, and organised adult and children’s sport, including grassroots football, can return from March 29.

Why do the clocks move forward?

An American politician and inventor called Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea while in Paris in 1784.

He suggested that if people got up earlier, when it was lighter, then it would save on candles.

But it arrived in the UK after Coldplay singer Chris Martin's great-great-grandfather wanted everyone to get out of bed earlier. Builder William Willett published a leaflet in 1907 called 'The Waste of Daylight'.

The clocks first changed in 1916 a month after Germany had taken up the idea.

The period when the clocks are 1 hour ahead is called British Summer Time (BST). There is more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings sometimes called Daylight Saving Time. When the clocks go back, the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

How to remember which way the clock is changing

It's easy to get confused about whether the clocks are going forward or back but this handy rhyme should help simplify things - "Spring forward, fall back.