Shoppers return to Bury town centre as month-long lockdown lifts

Shops across Bury were able to reopen their doors again this morning to welcome back customers after four weeks in lockdown.  Last time shops reopened in June, there were crowds filling town centre and long queues outside Primarks across the country. This time, not so.  But although there were no crowds at first, by 10am, The Rock shopping centre's airy avenues were filled with people carting huge bags around.  Each shop was kitted out with all the newest addition to public life in a post-coronavirus world.  Racks of clothes have now been replaced by hand sanitiser stations, and signs reminding people to wear their masks have been given pride of place in shop windows.  And the organisation was not lost on the steady stream of customers that braved the first day back in town. In fact, they were happy to see 'the rules being followed more than last time'.  Bury Council workers Faye Scott and Maggie Taylor have been working throughout lockdown. They took their lunch break to suss out the status of the shops today (December 1).   Faye told the Manchester Evening News : "When the shops reopened last time, we didn't leave the office for three days.  "It was just a free-for-all.  "Now it seems much more thorough. Things are a lot calmer and people are really following the rules."  Colleague Maggie agreed, saying: "People seem a lot more compliant now. It's organised chaos now, before it was just chaos.  "We've both come out because it's just nice to see people back here. It's not as busy as it was before coronavirus, especially considering today is a market day, but people have come back."  It was a mood echoed by many shoppers - that 'it was just nice to see people'. And that attitude will be welcomed by a high street that has gone through a week of particularly acute suffering.  Both Debenhams and the Arcadia group - including the likes of Topshop and Miss Selfridge - have both fallen into administration in the past few days, leaving thousands of jobs at risk just before Christmas.  The return of shoppers will no doubt have been a welcome sight for many staff members in these stores - all toting huge discount prices - tentatively waiting to see if there is any hope to hold on to.  One staff member, who wished not to be named, at Debenhams told the M.E.N.: "There's been a steady stream of people this morning, everyone has been happy to be back, I've seen a lot of friendly faces.  "It's really good to see and actually speak to people."  Another said: "It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be  A Topshop worker added: "I think people are really happy to get back out into shops and really see and look at things."  Friends Vicky and Yvonne were out shopping in Next today, not to take advantage of the bargains, but to 'get back to normal'.  Vicky told the M.E.N.: "We got here early this morning to have our Christmas shopping done and dusted by lunch. It's been really nice, everyone is wearing masks and using sanitiser.  "I think it's just