CALLS are being made for the Government to retain British Summer Time through the winter, with claims that this year it is more important than ever.

This year, the clocks will go back an hour on October 25, giving everyone an extra hour in bed as the clocks revert to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) at 2am - but it comes at a price.

RoSPA has campaigned for years against the clock change and is calling on the Government to instead keep British Summer Time all year round.

They have said that cancelling the change would allow us to enjoy more usable, evening daylight as well as being able to spend time and money in sectors such as hospitality and leisure who have been amongst those hardest hit by coronavirus.

On the website they said: On its website, RoSPA said: "Our social activities are given a curfew, and this is particularly true for older generations. Although we have more light in the mornings, this occurs when many of us are either still in bed, or indoors getting ready for work or school.

"That means that we have less usable daylight in the evenings to do the things we enjoy in the outdoors or in social environments.

"This has an impact on hospitality and leisure businesses such as pubs, museums, restaurants, and on the tourism industry more generally, which will be exacerbated given the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent research by the RAC Foundation confirms that road traffic collisions increase by 19 per cent in the fortnight after putting the clocks back one hour from British Summer Time (BST) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and they reduce by 11 per cent when we put the clocks forward onto BST.

In 2019, pedestrian deaths rose from 33 in September and 36 in October, to 54 in November and 57 in December, which could be related to darker evenings.

It added: "The darkness curfew also means that our health and wellbeing can be impacted significantly, leading to conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and people who are nervous about being out and about when it’s dark can become more socially isolated."

"It would also help to tackle the loneliness and depression that many are feeling due to lockdown and other restrictions, as there will be more daylight during waking hours, thus helping us to socialise – in line with current coronavirus measures - more easily."

They have said that a YouGov survey in 2019 showed more than half of British people want to scrap the clock change and given the choice, with people preferring British Summer Time all year.

The same survey also revealed that less than half of people want to keep the clock change, while two in five people actively want to see it scrapped.