Juliet says she will now spend Christmas having a long walk with her two dogs and go for a swim in the sea.

“It’s one of those things, and I’m trying to keep it in perspective as it’s only a holiday and not my livelihood, and I’ll get a full refund but it’s a big disappointment.”

Former British professional snowboarder Chris Moran, 48, has been renovating his home where he now lives in Bozel near Courchevel in France. His 12-year-old son Harry was due to travel out from his mum’s house in Brighton on Boxing Day along with two other friends, both 11, along with their fathers. 

“The children are gutted – they’ve all been crying. They were looking forward to being together, we play board games together and have fun exploring the mountains – what’s better than having a kids holiday together?” says Chris who has been rushing to finish renovations in order to have the group to stay. “They have friends here in Bozel and had all created a Whatsapp group to chat together about three weeks ago but it’s now fallen apart. Of course we can look at a half term or Easter holiday but at that age it’s an eternity to wait – even a week is a long time. 

“They were all going to drive out Boxing Day and we’d dealt with daily testing plans and so many logistical hoops to make the trip happen but when that news came through that was the final straw.” says Chris, who now plans to travel back to the UK to see his son and spend new year in the West Country. 

“We are all pro-vaccine, pro science, we’ve been following the rules but this has tipped us over the edge. I can’t see the logic. The numbers are going up for Omicron across Europe but daily deaths are going down – why close a random border that’s affecting hundreds of thousands of businesses on the verge of bankruptcy? The biggest losers here those whose businesses rely on that border being open.

“What is this achieving? The kids aren’t dying – healthy outdoor skiers and snowboarders aren’t the ones being affected. It’s just making people hate government decisions.”