I took photos of Brighton during the first Covid-19 lockdown five years ago - they shocked me

March 24, 2025, marks five years since the first national lockdown came into force.

Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, announced the first lockdown on the evening of March 23, strictly prohibiting people’s movement.

Shops selling non-essential goods were closed, along with other premises including places of worship, libraries, as were playgrounds and outdoor gyms.

Gatherings of more than two people from different households were banned and people were only allowed to leave their homes to shop for basic necessities, to fulfil any medical needs, to exercise once a day – alone or with members of their household – and to travel to and from work, but only when ‘absolutely necessary’ and the work could not be done from home.

Addressing the nation, Mr Johnson said: “You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say no. You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can. If you don’t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings." Many had predicted the measures – or something approaching them. Worthing had seen some of the country’s earliest cases of Covid-19, with an A&E worker at Worthing Hospital said to be among eight people who had tested positive in the UK as of February 12, 2020.

Before Mr Boris Johnson’s announcement, some had already enforced social distancing – as it came to be called.

But it was on March 24, 2020, when the city centre was all but deserted.

It’s very eerie to see such a diverse and creative city as Brighton so empty.

From Churchill Square, the beach, Hove lawns and more – these are some of the photos I took during the lockdown period in England.