HUNDREDS of shoppers have made the most of the easing of lockdown by heading back to Southend town centre.
Photos taken this morning show queues have been building outside Primark and the Royals Shopping Centre/ Debenhams after non-essential shops were given the all clear to reopen today.
Primark has announced it will be extending its opening times by two hours this week to allow customers to make up for lost time.
The Debenhams store in Southend is meanwhile hosting a closing down sale and is only expected to be open for a just a couple of weeks.
The return of customers will be a welcome sight for many businesses, with non-essential shops having been closed since early January due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Read more:
- WATCH: Hundreds queue in outside Lakeside Primark in early hours of the morning
- Live: Shops, pubs, hairdressers and gyms reopen in south Essex
Southend Council has installed new signage to ensure customers follow social distancing measures in place throughout the town centre.
A big "welcome back" banner has also been put up to mark the reopening of retail.
Customers are facing temperature checks, one-way systems and longer queues due to the rules in place.
People are being told to wait outside for staff to come and collect them, navigate through one way systems, and follow queuing stickers.
In the centre of the town, shoppers will be encouraged to stick to the left hand side of the street.
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