HOLIDAY bookings have 'gone through the roof' at one holiday park firm as sites across the region prepare to reopen in early July.

After nearly four months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, holiday park owners are hopeful that they can benefit from people shunning the uncertainty about travelling abroad to take 'staycations' in the UK instead.

And site operators have been working hard to put measures in place to aid social distancing in a bid to make their visitors as safe as possible.

A spokesman for Parkdean Resorts, which has several sites in the region including Whitley Bay, Crimdon Dene and Cayton Bay near Scarborough, said: “We’re very much looking forward to reopening and providing a welcome breath of fresh air for Britain’s families.

"At a time of great uncertainty and stress, families need a well-deserved break that is safe, secure and hassle-free, and our teams have been working hard to ensure the great British holiday is the best it has ever been.

"The demand for our holidays has gone through the roof and we expect to our parks to be full in the peak summer months, as well as having record numbers booking to stay with us in September and October."

The spokesman said that Parkdean resorts are 'ideally designed' for social distancing and extra safety measures are being implemented.

These include drive-through check-ins, Perspex screens and hygiene stations along with the introduction of one-way systems and social distancing markers.

The spokesman added: "While our parks may look slightly different, there will still be the same great service that holidaymakers have come to expect of Parkdean Resorts, celebrating our amazing beaches and countryside."

Parkdean sites will open from July 6 in England, July 13 in Wales and July 17 in Scotland.

Phil Brierley, the director of York House Leisure, which runs five holiday parks across North Yorkshire, said the lockdown had been 'extremely tough' and they were delighted to be reopening on July 4.

He added: "All our holiday parks have wide open spaces and our self-contained caravans and lodges stand at least six metres apart, so we’ve felt for a while that we would be able to re-open safely."